Mr Guterres files an appeal notes A high-level dialogue on loss and damage financing during the COP29 UN climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“In an age of climate extremes, loss and damage financing is a necessity,” he said. “I call on governments to surrender. In the name of justice.”

The most vulnerable affected

The world is warming and becoming more dangerous, which is “not up for debate,” he said, and “climate disasters are piling up; they hurt least, those who do the most.”

“Meanwhile, those further contributing to the destruction, especially the fossil fuel industry, continue to reap huge profits and subsidies,” he added.

Mr. Guterres described his creation Loss and Damage Fund As “a victory for developing countries, multilateralism and justice” He emphasized that $700 million in startup capital “does not come close to righting the wrong done to vulnerable people.”

Star football players are better financed

In fact, this figure roughly corresponds to the annual earnings of the world’s 10 highest-paid football players and does not even take into account a quarter of the damage caused by Hurricane Yagi in Vietnam in September.

“We have to be serious about the level of funding required,” he said. “I invite countries to provide new financing to the Fund. And to write checks to match.”

He called for new responses and new resources to meet the scale of need, as “dual flows alone will not be sufficient”.

Taxes and lending

In this context, he called on countries to agree on a new climate finance target that leverages innovative sources.

“We need to impose solidarity taxes on sectors such as shipping, aviation and fossil fuel extraction to help finance climate action. We need a fair price for carbon,” the UN chief said.

“And more broadly, we also need to support Multilateral Development Banks to increase their lending capacity so they can respond to the climate crisis.”

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi at the UN climate conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Climate change ‘a harsh reality’ for the world’s displaced

In a new report Presented at COP29 on Tuesday, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said climate change was becoming a growing threat to people already fleeing war, violence and persecution.

No Escape: On the Frontlines of Climate, Conflict and Displacement calls on governments to take stronger steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming and climate change.

The agency’s first report on the impact of climate change found that three-quarters of the more than 120 million forcibly displaced people worldwide live in countries hit hard by rising emissions.

Half of these are in places affected by both conflict and serious climate hazards, such as Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Syria.

‘There is no safe place to go’

Additionally, the number of countries facing extreme climate-related hazards is expected to increase from three to 65 by 2040, the vast majority of which host displaced persons.

Similarly, most refugee settlements and camps will face twice as many days of dangerous heat by mid-century.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said climate change was a “hard reality” that deeply affected the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people.

“The climate crisis is driving displacement in regions that are already home to large numbers of people displaced by conflict and insecurity, exacerbating their situation and leaving them with nowhere safe to go,” he added.

At COP29, UNHCR is calling for increased climate finance reaching those most in need.

The Agency also calls on States to protect forcibly displaced people who face the additional threat of climate disaster and to give them and their host communities a voice in financial and policy decisions.