COP29: China will only make voluntary climate finance contributions: official

China will only agree to make voluntary contributions to future climate finance, Zhao Yingmin, head of China's climate delegation, told S&P Global Commodity Insights Nov. 15.

Developed countries should be responsible for mandatory contributions under the draft New Collective Quantified Goal, the official said.

Agreement of the NCQG is a key objective of the UN Climate Change Conference, taking place in Baku.

The latest draft negotiating text, however, shows a wide variety of options on the finance goal's scope and structure, characterizing deep divisions between developed and developing nations.

One of the most controversial issues is whether the contributor base should be expanded to developing countries that have undergone rapid economic growth since 1992, when the developed/developing country definition was was drawn up by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Zhao said China's stance would be to stick to the existing Paris Agreement framework and the original definitions of developed/developing countries.

"For developed countries climate finance is not charity, not a gift. It is their duty," he said on the sidelines of COP29.

Asked whether China has requested a specific amount for the NCQG, Zhao said this was "up to the developed countries, who make the mandatory payments, to decide how much they would like to commit."

But it needed to be far more than $100 billion a year, he added.

The previous climate finance target of $100 billion/year by 2020, set back in 2009, was first met in 2022.

China has provided more than Yuan 177 billion ($24.50 billion) of climate finance since 2016, supporting developing countries' efforts to cope with climate change, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said at COP29 on Nov. 12.

Xue's statement was the first-ever quantitative assessment of the country's contribution to climate finance for other developing countries.

While various parties have called for a more streamlined NCQG text, the COP Presidency has insisted on a wide range of options at this point of the talks.

"This is a significant step but there are still many options to be resolved. We now want to hear everyone's views and we will create spaces for them to provide their inputs throughout COP29," said summit president Mukhtar Babayev on the release of the latest draft.

Most developing countries are calling for a quantum ranging from $1 trillion to $1.3 trillion annually. Developed nations argue that a multilayered NCQG with a global investment target would send strong signals to diverse stakeholders helping to mobilize climate finance.