Witten/Herdecke University campaigns for more climate justice at the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku

The 29th UN Climate Change Conference is currently taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan. The experts on site are focussing on the question of how the countries of the Global South can be supported more effectively in climate protection. While wealthy countries are driving decarbonisation through their own instruments such as carbon pricing, poorer countries often lack the resources to implement similarly effective measures: Funds often flow into bureaucratically complex loans that are not directly linked to clear climate protection targets and therefore only achieve limited results.

This is where a new financing mechanism comes in, co-developed by Prof Dr Magdalene Silberberger, Professor of Development Economics and Academic Director of the International Center for Sustainable and Just Transformation [tra:ce] at Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H), and her doctoral student Max Matthey. Max Matthey is on site in Baku and is presenting the concept "CLIMA: Results-Based Subsidy Auctions for Global Climate Finance". It aims to utilise financial resources for climate protection in countries of the Global South more efficiently and sustainably.

The CLIMA concept is based on an auction principle: companies in developing countries apply with projects that have measurable climate protection results and compete for the lowest level of funding required. This approach offers several advantages:

• Transparency and efficiency: through this process, the projects that implement climate protection in the most cost-effective way are funded.
• Accountability: Funds only flow if the agreed targets are met.
• Targeted funding: Grants can be earmarked specifically for regions and projects that promise particularly high climate impact.

• Private investment: The process mobilises additional private capital and thus increases the impact of climate protection measures.

"It is a great honour for me to present our proposals at the UN Climate Change Conference," says Max Matthey. "With the CLIMA concept, we are simplifying access to climate finance for projects in the Global South and ensuring that every dollar invested achieves maximum impact."

Further information: The 29th UN Climate Change Conference in Baku runs until 20 November. The full agenda can be found here: COP29 Azerbaijan - United Nations Climate Change Conference

You can find the working paper here: irpp.org/research-studies/climate-impact-auctions/