Rwanda is stepping up its call for a bold new global climate finance framework as world leaders gather in Azerbaijan for COP29. The East African nation wants funding for loss and damage – think hurricanes wiping out villages or droughts destroying crops – to get equal billing with traditional climate action pillars like reducing emissions and adapting to changes.
‘You can’t rebuild stronger communities without reliable cash flow,’ Rwanda’s Environment Ministry stressed, highlighting how climate-vulnerable countries often get stuck in a disaster-recovery debt loop. Their game plan? Push wealthy nations to lock in long-term funding that’s more grant-based and less loan-heavy.
But here’s the kicker: Rwanda’s also fighting for radical transparency. Imagine a climate finance version of ‘show your receipts’ – clear tracking of who’s pledging what, and where the money actually goes.
The timing couldn’t be sharper. COP29’s main mission? Forging a post-$100 billion climate finance deal as the old 2009 target expires. President Paul Kagame put it bluntly: ‘Funding shouldn’t become another crisis for those already drowning in climate chaos.’
