All eyes on COP28 in Dubai to pursue Paris financial pact objectives

All eyes on COP28 in Dubai to pursue Paris financial pact objectives

Something important happened in Paris last week that got limited media attention. The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, hosted a two-day summit for a “New Global Financial Pact” with the aim of achieving four major objectives — ideally by 2030, which are: Restoring fiscal space to countries facing short-term difficulties, especially the most indebted countries, promoting private sector development in low-income countries, encouraging investment in “green” infrastructure for the energy transition in emerging and developing countries and mobilising innovative financing for countries vulnerable to climate change. Macron had called for holding this summit last year at the end of COP27 in Egypt. Back then the parties involved saw that there is a need to work together to face the repercussions of multiple crises that are linked together. These are climate, energy, health and economic crises and the financing needed to address them. At the end of the summit, which was attended by 40 leaders and representatives, in addition to international institutions and NGOs, participants agreed on the need to reform the world’s financial system. The rich countries pledged to honour a commitment to support a $100 billion fund annually, as special drawing rights (SDR), under climate finance that will help