Filipino activists and civil society leaders at the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, are pressing world leaders to secure concrete financial commitments to help developing nations combat the climate crisis. 

Central to their demand is the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), a financial mechanism to replace the $100 billion annual pledge under the 2015 Paris Agreement, which ends in 2025.

In a press conference streamed live on social media, Yeb Saño, Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia and former Climate Change Commissioner, emphasized the critical need for clarity in financial commitments. 

“We cannot leave Baku without clarity of scale, quantum, structure, and scope of finance,” Saño said, referring to the devastating effects of climate-related disasters in the Philippines. 

He stressed that money is essential to enable mitigation, adaptation, and responses to loss and damage.

The Philippines recently became host to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), operationalized earlier this week. 

However, Saño warned that without fighting for a substantial financial allocation, it would remain an empty promise. 

“Not just to push to the board but to ensure that in the NCQG, Loss and Damage won’t drop off the table,” he said.

Avril De Torres, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED), highlighted the need for reparations from nations and companies historically responsible for fossil fuel dependency in Southeast Asia. 

“Among the group’s demands at COP29 should also be the participation of Northern and East Asian firms that have historically contributed to fossil fuel dependencies in our region,” she said. 

De Torres highlighted Southeast Asia’s strong ambition and political will to advance renewable energy initiatives. 

However, she pointed out that progress in the region is largely driven by domestic players, with limited involvement from foreign firms. 

She emphasized that any success achieved at COP29 should result in the tangible development of renewable energy and supporting infrastructures in the region.

Ian C. Rivera of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development called for significant public financing to address energy transition, loss and damage, adaptation, and just transitions in developing nations. 

“It’s not just to address energy transition but also to address loss and damage, adaptation, and just transition, particularly for developing countries,” Rivera said. 

He criticized the ongoing construction of fossil fuel infrastructure, saying, “The building of fossil fuel structures continues.”

Rivera stressed that the $1.3 trillion currently proposed by developing countries is insufficient to tackle the escalating impacts of the climate crisis. 

He called for a more ambitious $5 trillion commitment to effectively address climate-related challenges. He also urged the Philippine delegation to stand firm and resist any attempts by developed nations to undermine the unity and position of vulnerable countries through divide-and-conquer tactics.