'Can’t stop climate crisis by spending less on climate finance than we spend on ice cream': ActionAid at COP29

There is no way to resolve the world's climate crisis without channeling more investment into climate finance, ActionAid's spokespeople stressed at the COP29 on the UN conference's opening day.

They also urged the rich polluting Global North countries to provide adequate climate financing for adaptation, mitigation and loss and damage, reads a press statement issued today (11 November). 

Speaking on the occasion, Teresa Anderson, the Global Climate Justice lead at ActionAid, said, "COP29 is about the new climate finance goal to unlock climate action in the Global South. Without finance, talk about climate action will remain just that – talk. They say there is no such thing as a free lunch – well there's no such thing as a free climate target either. If we're serious about climate action, we have to pay for climate action."

"Sticking the Global South with an escalating climate bill is not only unfair, it's a recipe for certain planetary breakdown. This is why climate-hit countries desperately need COP29 to agree a new climate finance goal that delivers real worth trillions of dollars in grants each year.

"So far wealthy countries have been evading their responsibilities," she added.

In 2022, between them, developed countries only provided $28-35 billion in grants for climate action in the Global South. For context, the world spent twice as much on ice cream that year ($71 billion), said the ActionAid official.

"We can't avert planetary meltdown by spending less on climate finance than we spend on ice cream."

Also speaking at the event, Mosammat Dulali, a community member from Kalapara region in Southern Bangladesh, pointed out the rise in climate disasters in recent years.

 "As a child, I did not witness disasters as severe as the ones in recent years, especially those that occurred between 2007 and 2024. Bangladesh endured four cyclones in 2024 alone. 

"The Kalapara community experienced extreme damage due to submersion of land that led to collapse of houses, loss of livelihood and livestock, death of children and women who are the most vulnerable in the face of natural disaster," she said.

She noted that tidal surges from cyclones and floods have increased the salinity of agricultural land reducing the ability to produce enough food for the community.

"In our region, we used to produce a good variety of winter crops, especially lentils and watermelons, and were self-sufficient, but now farmers produce fewer crops than before.

"We face drought during the planting season, and at other times heavy rainfall and floods destroy the crops. Every year, the fish population in rivers and the sea also decreases, resulting in a protein deficiency. 

"We need the world to act now and address these climate disasters. If it continues like this, we may not have a community left to talk about," she said.