Baku (Azerbaijan), November 18, 2024 – In a decisive week for COP29 on climate change, Colombia's Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad, highlighted the need to prioritize concrete actions to achieve the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and ensure a just transition to a sustainable future.
Speaking at the high-level ministerial roundtable on pre-2030 climate ambition, the minister highlighted three key actions identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as priorities for the next decade:
- The expansion of renewable energy.
- The protection of biodiversity and forests.
- Significant reduction of methane emissions, especially in oil-producing countries such as Colombia.
In view of the slow progress of the negotiations, Colombia's Minister of Environment, Susana Muhamad, called for concrete and urgent actions to meet the climate goals before 2030, highlighting the importance of energy transition, ecosystem protection and the reduction of methane emissions.
Muhamad emphasized that, although the global commitment to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency was reaffirmed at COP28 in Dubai, ,progress is not equitable."The developed world is succeeding in tripling its renewables, while energy access in developing countries is still lacking. We need an inclusive renewable energy package that incorporates the most excluded populations in the energy transition", she said.
Muhamad questioned the inequality in progress towards global goals, denouncing that developing countries face barriers in accessing the necessary financing for energy transition and nature conservation.
In line with global efforts to curb climate change, the minister reiterated Colombia's support for the Fossil Fuels Non-Proliferation Treaty, highlighting its potential to guide the economic transition of oil-producing countries towards a sustainable model.
In addition, Muhamad highlighted the need for synergies between the biodiversity and climate change conventions, urging parties to work together on financing mechanisms that recognize and reward the ecosystem services of countries with large forest reserves. "Without those forests, the climate problem would be much worse. We need financial resources to restore and preserve nature as a co-benefit for adaptation”, she added.
She also reiterated the proposal to strengthen synergies between the climate and biodiversity conventions, with innovative financial mechanisms that recognize and reward the ecosystem services of nations with large forest reserves.
In concluding her remarks, the minister called on the ministers present to prioritize the IPCC recommendations and work on innovative financial solutions, such as global taxes and debt relief, to ensure the effective implementation of urgent measures.
Colombia's position reinforces the country's commitment to an ambitious climate agenda that drives structural and sustainable change at the global level. The closing week of COP29 will be decisive in defining concrete steps towards meeting the 2030 goals.
Colombia reiterates that a new financial pact must redirect countries' sovereign debt towards investments to address the climate crisis
In Baku, Colombia's Minister of Environment and COP16 President, Susana Muhamad, highlighted the urgency of establishing an international financial system that is up to the challenging climate juncture, stressing the importance of investing in adaptation, especially in critical frameworks, such as extreme floods and droughts, which have an annual cost of around US$400 million outside the budget established to respond to these emergencies.
The Global Expert Review on Debt, Nature and Climate aims to analyze the interconnection between debt crises, climate change and biodiversity loss, especially in emerging and developing economies (EMDCs).
In the presentation of the Preliminary Report of the Expert Group on Debt, Nature and Climate, established by the governments of Colombia, Kenya, France and Germany, different recommendations were presented in order to realize the vision of reforming the global financial structure, highlighting: the need to reform the international financial systems to better integrate the risks associated with climate change and biodiversity; and developing countries such as Colombia should receive greater financial support, including preferential financing conditions, in order to advance in green transition projects and increase investments in climate resilience, among others.
In the case of Colombia, this review highlights how high levels of debt limit investments in climate and ecological solutions, perpetuating a cycle that exacerbates environmental crises.
The president of COP16 and Minister of Environment of Colombia, Susana Muhamad, stressed the urgency of reconfiguring the financial architecture in the face of the climate challenges affecting the planet.
"It is essential to establish bold solutions, including the creation of a global pact that allows redirecting part of the sovereign debts towards strategic climate investments. In that sense, we cannot afford to have a debt crisis with a climate crisis together. That would be catastrophic for everyone and very difficult to recover from”, said Minister Susana Muhamad.
In this sense, Muhamad emphasized the negative impact that external debt with high debt servicing has on the capacity of developing countries to address the challenges posed by climate change and biodiversity conservation.
It is crucial to reform debt sustainability frameworks to adequately incorporate the risks associated with nature and climate, particularly in biodiversity-rich countries such as Colombia, where natural capital represents both an opportunity and a challenge.
During her speech, the minister stressed the importance of rethinking the international financial architecture and the rating associated with the sustainability of emerging and climate-vulnerable countries so that they can finance their efforts towards green and sustainable growth.