Letter to Leaders, Finance and Climate Ministers

Dear Leaders, Finance and Climate Ministers, 

As we approach the G20 ministerials, the Summit in Rio and COP29 in Baku, the world faces a critical moment. Despite the promises in the Paris Agreement, progress has stalled, particularly when it comes to mobilizing the necessary financing for low- and middle-income countries to tackle issues like the climate emergency, extreme poverty and hunger. Without a fundamental redesign of our financial system, we cannot tackle the threats of today or finance a fairer future. 

Time is running out for decisive action. You hold immense power and responsibility in the world. We urge you to use this to take the following bold steps to help address these urgent challenges, and build trust with partners in the global South.

• Agree on an ambitious, equitable and concessional NCQG which keeps 1.5 degrees alive. We don’t need another declaration of an intention, the NCQG should be a real tool to increase actual financing. This means agreeing on:
  • A specific goal on adaptation finance. Climate adaptation needs are increasing, and the latest estimates point to global financing needs to be around $400  billion per year.
  • A specific target for public finance as the core of the new goal. The NCQG cannot become a fig leaf to hide lower international climate finance contributions. 
  • Ensuring specific solidarity levies are a critical part of the broad NCQG with a view to leveraging innovative financing to scale-up grants-based finance for climate.
  • Strong transparency on tracking and reporting of the new goal. The NCQG process must put an end to the current opacity around climate finance and agree on a clear methodology, taking ODA reporting to the OECD DAC as an example.

• Finance goals must be underpinned by rigorous NDCs and NAPs, which outline clear steps to reduce national greenhouse gas emissions and highlight country-level priorities on adaptation. These plans must:
  • Be economy wide and sector specific 
  • Include clear targets and timelines on ending coal, oil and gas expansion
  • Lead to a phase out of fossil fuel production and consumption
  • Align with COP28 targets for tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency
  • Be the output of a participative process involving marginalized groups.
    
• Agree on a timeline to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.
  • Since 2009, the G20 has committed to phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies; in 2016, the G7 gave itself 2025 as a deadline. Yet subsidies are far from being phased out. In 2022, total subsidies for oil, gas and coal reached $1.529T, which is almost double what the world spends on education and significantly higher compared to subsidies back in 2010. Government must lay out a plan on how they will phase out fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, and reinvest this funding for the global green transition. This must be included in the new NDCs.
    

• Protect ODA and climate financing and agree on concrete steps to mobilise additional innovative financing via solidarity levies and SDRs.
  • Worrying trends show many countries plan on scaling back ODA budgets at a time when multiple global crises affect millions around the world, thereby threatening lives and livelihoods, and shattering trust with partners in the global south. National and multilateral ODA levels must be sustained, and countries must reaffirm the 0.7% ODA/GNI target as well as the commitment to increase ODA to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
  • Support the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force and its efforts to ensure high polluters and undertaxed sectors and individuals contribute to the fight against climate change and poverty. In addition, support the Brazilian leadership on a global standard to tax billionaires under coordinated principles and lay out a path to agree to such a standard by COP30. Concrete levy options to scale financing for climate and development needs are available and tested and could mobilize hundreds of billions in grant financing every year.
  • Hundreds of SDRs are still untapped and rechanelling via MDBs will leverage them fourfold and allow for scaled support for the green transition and socio-economic development. The IMF board decision in May to allow the use of SDRs for hybrid capital paves the way for five countries to reallocate SDRs via the African Development Bank, and others to support the mechanism through callable guarantee under the Liquidity Support Agreement. The mechanism should be up and running by the Financing for Development Conference 4.

• Ensure IDA21 is the most successful replenishment to date, and ensure Gavi is fully financed to deliver for the next one billion children.
  • IDA is a highly cost-effective channel for ODA, resulting in donor contributions up to 3.5 times over through the issuance of AAA-rated bonds, with an average return of investment of 22% and it is a key instrument to combat malnutrition and food insecurity. With its replenishment in Korea just two months away, countries must commit to increase contributions by a minimum 25% in real terms. Denmark has already pledged a 40% increase - others most follow suit. More than 100 eminent CEOs, world leaders and artists have signed the Abidjan Accord, calling for a $120 billion replenishment for IDA21.
  • Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is one of the most cost effective and high impact institutions, having vaccinated more than 1 billion children and averted more than 17.3 million future deaths between 2000 and 2022. Each US$ 1 of investment in immunisation bringing US$ 54 of wider economic benefits. Countries must ensure Gavi meets its $9 billion replenishment target for 2026-2030 to reach the next billion children in half the time, saving an additional 8-9 million lives.

The time to act is now. We call on you to take these bold actions not only to drive immediate, real-world impacts, but also to deepen trust with partners in the global South ahead of the critical Brazilian COP30 in Belem in 2025.

Sincerely,

Michael Sheldrick,
Co-Founder & Chief Policy and Government Affairs Officer, Global Policy and Government Affairs
Global Citizen

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