UN climate chief Simon Stiell has told negotiators at the COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, that setting an ambitious new climate finance target is crucial for the well-being of all nations, including the wealthiest and most powerful.

Officially, the 29th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP29, which began on Tuesday, will end on November 22.

This is to replace the $100 billion pledge set in 2009, which expires at the end of the year and which many say is far less than what is required to cope with fast-rising air and sea temperatures.

Mr Stiell, UNFCCC’s executive secretary, underscored that the UNFCCC process “is the only place where the world can address the rampant climate crisis, and to credibly hold each other to account to act on it.

He gave stark examples of why a new deal on climate finance is so critical, saying that every country would pay a terrible price if at least two-thirds of the world’s countries cannot afford to reduce their emissions rapidly.

Moreover, the entire world economy could collapse if countries could not strengthen their supply chains in the face of rising costs linked to climate shocks, such as falling water levels in the Panama Canal, which dramatically impacted shipping volumes.

“I’m as frustrated as anyone that one single COP can’t deliver the full transformation that every nation needs… [but] it is here that Parties need to agree a way out of this mess,” Mr Stiell stated. “That’s why here in Baku, we must agree a new global climate finance goal.”

Mr Stiell hails from Grenada, where Hurricane Beryl nearly flattened his home island of Carriacou in July.

Speaking against the backdrop with images of the devastation, he told COP29 delegates that he was inspired by his neighbours, like an 85-year-old woman named Florence – and millions of others worldwide – who become victims of climate change “but get up over and over again.”

“But we cannot afford to continue up-ending lives and livelihoods in every nation – so let’s make this real,” he said, posing a series of simple questions to the delegates.

Mr Stiell wrapped up his remarks with a reminder of the historic importance of COP29.

“We cannot leave Baku without a substantial outcome,” he said, challenging delegates to “stand and deliver.”

He called on every nation to show that global cooperation is “rising to this moment” rather than faltering.

(NAN)