Sustainability Manager , Synechron , USA
COP29 is now upon us again, and in Baku, Azerbaijan, leaders are meeting to try to find solutions to an escalating climate emergency. This year’s COP is likely to be defined by the monetary commitments required to address the impacts of climate change – with negotiators grappling with the challenge of raising and investing the funds needed to achieve the world’s climate ambitions.
Climate finance has been at the heart of COP negotiations for decades, and while we often hear academic language like “mitigation”, “adaptation”, “loss and damage”, it’s a more nuanced and complex discussion than that. Ultimately, it’s about how best to funnel cash from one side of the planet – the developed side that’s contributed significantly to global warming – to the side that’s experiencing the worst of the change.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , people in the developing world are 15 times more likely to be victims of natural catastrophes than people in the developed world, and with huge financial challenges involved in post-disaster rehabilitation, these countries will need greater assistance in confronting the effects of climate change.
It’s customary to separate climate finance into three buckets: investments; undetected costs; and loss and damage, and these areas will be top of the agenda at COP29:
At the heart of all these talks is the nagging doubt: will the richest nations be able to find the political will to fulfil their promises, or will they continue to rely on assurances on future investments, and on private equity moving in the same direction as governments? For less developed nations, the solution is urgent. Climate change is upon them – with rising sea levels, flooding, and droughts now occurring with alarming regularity.
But the answers are there
Climate capital can be made available in other ways, through green bonds, sustainable credit and cutting-edge global alliances. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund could at some point adapt their lending strategies to include climate adaptation and resilience. But all these solutions, can only work if the money is there.
Only climate finance can enable us to take meaningful climate action. Without it, the world will have no chance of achieving its emissions reduction targets and shielding underserved communities from the devasting impact of climate change.
COP29 will end, as it always does, with speeches and signings, and with commitments to action. But, for those on the frontline of climate change, the questions will remain: Where is the money? When will we see it? And how far will these commitments go?
Sustainability Manager
Parul Vyas, based in U.S.A, is a Sustainability Manager for Synechron. She plays a critical role in driving the company's environmental and sustainability agenda across its worldwide operations. Her work incorporates accounting and managing firm’s GHG emissions, developing and implementing strategies to reduce the firm’s environmental impact, ensuring compliance, transparent disclosures and integrating sustainable initiatives into business operations and corporate culture. Prior to this, Parul worked in the non-profit sector, where she worked on development of Climate Smart Villages - a transformative initiative aimed at enhancing the resilience of rural communities to climate change. In this role, she not only focused on sustainable agricultural practices but also led integrated programs that supported women's empowerment, health, agriculture, and education. Parul has a Master’s in Sustainability Management from Columbia University, New York and a Master’s in Geography from Delhi School of Economics, India.
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