Statement by Elizabeth Yee, Executive Vice President of Programs at The Rockefeller Foundation, on COP29

The world is doing more than it has to meet a climate crisis that is making life worse for billions of people. On behalf of The Rockefeller Foundation, I commend global leaders for making important progress at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), but we are still drastically far from what we need. We need every nation, business, philanthropy, and organization to do more to advance the people-centered climate solutions essential to human well-being in this era.

The data make clear that climate change is making people’s lives more difficult all over the world: 1 in 5 people is malnourished. Ten of 15 climate-related human health indicators have reached new records. Unsurprisingly, people are on the move: 117 million people were forcibly displaced last year. As such, inaction is not just making lives worse — it is making the world less stable and secure.

At this moment, we must work to transform a crisis that affects all of us into an opportunity to build a new, green economy that benefits everyone.

In Baku, important progress was made toward that goal. The Loss and Damage Fund established at COP27 was operationalized, multilateral development banks committed to boosting their climate financing, and advanced economies tripled the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to $300 billion per year to help developing nations address climate change. While this NCQG is nowhere near the necessary total, it will begin to help mobilize private and other financing in the places where it is needed most. World Bank shareholder countries can also build on this commitment by providing a robust replenishment of the Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) next month.

As we look forward to COP30 in Brazil, all of us need to take action. For our part, the Foundation is partnering with organizations to help scale up climate investment in the Global South, support African-led energy transition solutions, dramatically increase access to regeneratively grown school meals, and more. We look forward to continuing to work with our grantees and partners to make sure all individuals have a chance to succeed and thrive, while slowing the climate crisis.