At COP29, Canada’s GAIA platform aims to boost climate adaptation in least-developed regions
Canada has announced the launch of a US$1.48bn climate platform, known as GAIA, aimed at supporting countries most vulnerable to climate change.
According to The Globe and Mail, the platform was unveiled at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where Canada committed to advancing climate finance initiatives.
GAIA, a public-private partnership, will allocate 70 percent of its funds to climate adaptation projects, focusing 25 percent on “least developed” countries and “small island developing states,” as outlined by Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
“This is about resiliency, the economy, and people,” Guilbeault remarked while standing alongside Seyni Nafo, co-ordinator of the African Adaptation Initiative.
Emphasizing the need for innovative solutions, he stated, “We need an agreement here on finance so that we can develop more and more of these innovative products to help people in the Global South.”
The GAIA platform will receive investments from Mitsubishi Financial Group, the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environmental Facility, and FinDev Canada.
Guilbeault’s arrival in Baku marks Canada’s engagement in the World Leaders Climate Action Summit, the opening segment of The GAIA platform.
The summit, attended by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, saw notable absences, including leaders from the United States and China, as well as Canada’s own Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
The conference coincides with last week’s US presidential election, where former President Donald Trump, a known climate-change sceptic, secured victory.
Trump has indicated he would withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris climate agreement and expand fossil-fuel production.
Asked if this election result would impact Canada’s climate agenda, Guilbeault was resolute: “The likely shift in priorities under Trump changes nothing for us. We remain determined to continue with climate action, both domestically and internationally.”
Canada's priorities at COP29 include mobilizing funds for green transitions in developing nations and advocating for stricter emissions caps globally.
Canada’s 2021 climate goals from COP26 remain ambitious, yet Guilbeault expressed optimism. “I think we have a fair shot of meeting our 2030 targets,” he said, adding that “2030 is not the end of the story.”
At the summit, leaders addressed the importance of robust climate financing to aid vulnerable nations in their transition away from fossil fuels.
Central to the talks is a “new collective quantified goal” for climate finance, expanding on the US$100bn annual pledge made by industrialized nations in 2009.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged countries to commit fresh funds, stressing, “We need new responses, and new sources, to meet the scale of need.”
