Rich nations must pay more to tackle climate change, G24 says

IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas and IMF Research Department Deputy Director Petya Koeva Brooks take questions during a world economic outlook briefing during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group's annual meetings October 22, 2024, in Washington, DC. [AFP]

Richer countries must put more money on the table to support the world's developing and emerging market economies tackle climate and development challenges, or risk undoing recent progress, the G24 group of nations said Tuesday.

"The global community is falling short of attaining climate and development goals, and in providing the commensurate financial support to developing countries towards achieving them," the G24 group announced in a statement.

The G24, which includes a wide range of emerging market and developing economies including Argentina, Ghana, Nigeria, and the Philippines, met at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington this week.

On climate change, the G24 said there was a need to "significantly scale up finance."

It added that the amount required "is therefore greater than the $100 billion per year planned during the upcoming COP29," to replace the current commitment, which expires next year.

This figure is paid by rich, industrialized countries that have contributed the most historically to global warming, including the United States, European Union member states, and Japan.

The G24 said added that its members "look forward to faster progress on the operationalization and capitalization of the Loss and Damage Fund," referring to a fund designed to compensate developing economies for climate damage caused largely by richer countries.

The wording of the climate finance target, which is due to be adopted in November at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, has become clearer in recent weeks following the publication of a draft agreement.

However, the final figure, known as the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) has not yet been announced and remains up in the air ahead of next month's summit.

"Without improvements and bold actions, decades of individual and global efforts to eradicate poverty and inequality, combat climate change and invest in projects will be put to a halt, if not reversed," Philippines Secretary of Finance and G24 chair Ralph Recto told reporters at the IMF in Washington on Tuesday.