Statement from Minister Guilbeault on Canada’s commitment to reaching a finance deal at COP29

November 19, 2024 – Baku, Azerbaijan

As the second week of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) continues in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, issued a statement on the critical need to demonstrate collective ambition and to reach an agreement on a new and transformative climate finance goal—the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG).

“Canada has come to COP29 ready to secure a new climate finance goal that addresses the nature and scale of the climate crisis. Canada supports this goal, which acts on our shared responsibilities to enhance global ambition.

“Outside the halls of these important negotiations, the urgency of action is undeniable. Rising global temperatures, more frequent extreme weather events like wildfires and hurricanes, and the rapid loss of biodiversity all demonstrate the profound and lasting impacts that climate change is having on the planet. To achieve our collective goals, we need to scale up investment in mitigation and adaptation, particularly to support the most vulnerable nations and communities. A new collective finance goal is a critical step to help us get there.

“Canada is pressing for a transformative climate finance goal that unlocks new levels of funding to better reflect the evolving needs of developing countries, in particular Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries, as well as the scale of the challenge we face. To achieve this, we need to shift the way we do climate finance and build on lessons learned since 2009. Things have changed significantly since the first goal was set. While the numbers are critical, we also need the right framework, with a clear aim to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach. A framework that makes finance more accessible, acknowledges existing financial contributions, and helps close the global investment gap is how we encourage everyone to deliver finance effectively.

“Finance is all about partnership. Increasing investments to support clean energy, clean cooking, and energy security require reforms to ensure that funding reaches the people and communities on the frontlines of climate change in developing countries, including Indigenous peoples, women, workers, and young people. The goal must reflect needs and avoid increasing the debt burden of vulnerable countries.

“The development of a new goal provides us with a collective opportunity to show that the Paris Agreement is working to tackle the climate crisis. We came here with a purpose, and we understand our responsibilities. Let us show the world that we can keep 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach and agree to a finance goal that will help us get there.”

Quick facts

• The New Collective Quantified Goal is a key focus at COP29. It aims to establish a goal for climate finance that will build on the previous US$100 billion goal, set in 2009.
• In recent years, Canada has worked closely with other contributors on the delivery and transparency of climate finance and improving its effectiveness, notably through joint efforts with Germany. Thanks in part to these collective efforts, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development confirmed that the US$100 billion goal was surpassed for the first time in 2022.
• Canada was an early advocate for the need to make progress on the issue of loss and damage. At COP28, Canada announced a $16 million contribution to the start-up cost of the recently established Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, making Canada one of the first contributors to the Fund.
• Canada is on track to fully deliver on its $5.3 billion climate finance commitment by 2026 to help developing countries address climate change while striving to halt biodiversity loss around the world.
• During COP29, Canada announced the launch of GAIA, a $1.48 billion finance platform to increase climate funding and support projects in up to 25 emerging markets and developing economies. Through these efforts, 70 percent of the funding will go to adaptation actions, and 25 percent will be directed to Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.
• Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries still face barriers to accessing climate finance. Canada is working to address these barriers and ensure finance flows to the most vulnerable, for example by collaborating with the Rocky Mountain Institute on the Climate Finance Access Network, to build capacity of developing countries to access finance for priority climate investments and working through its board membership on the Green Climate Fund to prioritize simplifying access.