14 December 2023, DUBAI: Ghana Finance Minister and V20 Finance Ministers Chair Ken Ofori-Atta and Former Maldives President and Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Secretary-General Mohamed Nasheed released the following statements at the closing of the UN climate conference here:
H.E. Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana Minister for Finance and Chair of V20 Finance Ministers:
As we approach the risk of exceeding the 1.5°C threshold outlined in the Paris Agreement by 2030, highlighted by the COP28 decision, a pressing question emerges: Can the global financial system, including national budgets, access to capital, and personal savings, sufficiently address the increased needs for adaptation, as well as compensate for losses and damages incurred due to breaching this threshold?
The 1.5°C target remains the central focus of climate negotiations, as reiterated in the UAE Consensus. Vulnerable countries persist in advocating and spearheading effective measures to maintain global temperatures within this limit, which is essential for our survival and prosperity.
Amidst a multifaceted global crisis, our group of 68 nations remains committed to our joint objectives of achieving climate prosperity and debt sustainability. We anticipate the forthcoming leadership transition, with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados poised to assume the presidency mid-next year, and President Mohamed Nasheed appointed as Secretary-General.
Recognizing climate issues as catalysts for financial and investment opportunities, we reemphasize our appeal for increased funding for adaptation, risk management, loss, damage, and energy transitions. We also aim to develop markets and initiatives focused on resilience, renewable energy, and carbon trading.
The integration of the V20 Accra-Marrakech (A2M) Agenda into the COP28 UAE Declaration on a Global Climate Finance Framework marks a significant step towards enhancing credit for sustainability-linked sovereign financing. We trust that the essence of the A2M Agenda will continue to influence climate negotiations and the broader economy. Bangladesh’s Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan has effectively utilized the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Resilience and Sustainability Fund (RSF), securing $1.4 billion. This fund, complemented by multilateral, private, and bilateral resources, is crucial for realizing our Climate Prosperity Plans. Furthermore, our engagement with China in making the Belt and Road Initiative more sustainable exemplifies our commitment to shared prosperity, as underscored by the UAE Consensus.
We commend Kenya’s leadership in the new international taxation task force and look forward to organizing our debt managers in the Emergency Coalition on Debt Sustainability and Climate Prosperity alongside next year’s African Development Bank Annual Meeting in Nairobi. Our readiness to collaborate extends to Brazil for the Roadmap to Mission 1.5C, the G21 Sustainable Finance Working Group, Bridgetown Initiative 3.0, and the Common Framework.
The concept of ‘fair shares’ is pivotal in driving climate-resilient progress, particularly by emphasizing increased climate financing for Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) countries. This approach underscores the necessity of distributing resources and responsibilities equitably among our 68 member states, ensuring that the needs of the most vulnerable are prioritized. This is to enable our 1.7 billion people to benefit from climate-resilient growth, ultimately securing a sustainable and resilient future for all.
H.E. Mohamed Nasheed, CVF Secretary-General:
We know our dream did not die in Dubai. With this UAE Consensus COP decision, the writing is on the wall: this is the beginning of the end of fossil fuels. What we now lack is time: the science as acknowledged in the COP decision is clear that to save 1.5C and the existence of many of the most vulnerable developing nations emissions must fall rapidly from today onwards.
For our part, the Climate Vulnerable Forum stands ready as a coalition of the willing to lead in the transition away from fossil fuels and towards climate prosperity. Our peoples do not want to be poor in a stable climate, so financing from the big emitters will be crucial – sadly financing for adaptation and clean energy is still lacking from the COP, despite the small success of the Loss & Damage Fund. I commend the COP president for his determination and skill in what was a difficult negotiation. Now we must return to our nations and redouble our efforts to deliver on what was agreed today.
Dithering is disastrous so we join the applause of over 200 countries as the Dubai climate talks conclude and we ask everyone to roll up their sleeves. One day we may yet learn the hard lesson that the climate does not negotiate. The Paris-prescribed 1.5C goal is not only for our survival, because it represents what to us is the biggest prize, prosperity in our climate-constrained world.
ENDS
CONTACT
Paul Roberts: [email protected], +960 765 4337
Denise Fontanilla: [email protected], +63 917 851 4890
