Cuba speaks at UN meeting

 A Cuban delegation attending the 60th Plenary Session of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, under way in Bonn, Germany, reasserted the island’s commitment to the forum and its active role in defense of the legitimate interests and historical claims of developing countries.

“The year 2024 is crucial in terms of climate financing, not only because it will mark the establishment of a New Quantified Financial Goal at the 29th UN Conference on Climate Change, to be held next November in Azerbaijan, but also because this is a critical moment to take action and meet the Sustainable Development Goals,” the Cuban representative remarked.

The official confirmed Cuba's alignment with the points made by Uganda on behalf of the G77+China; Samoa, for the Alliance of Small Island Developing States; Bolivia, representing the Group of Like-Minded Developing Countries; and Venezuela for the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America - Peoples' Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP). He also highlighted the progress made at COP 28 in Dubai, the establishment of the Global Objective on Adaptation framework, the presentation of the Work Program on Just Transition, and Paris Agreement’s First Global Stocktake.

Likewise, Cuba warned that none of these issues are closed or resolved and recalled the appeal for the next nationally determined contributions to be more ambitious and to actually implement national plans, which calls for trillions of dollars annually to meet the said goals based on financial contributions that respond to the obligations laid down in the Paris Agreement.

"The New Collective Quantified Goal must guarantee the flow of new, additional and predictable resources, with proper levels of access, based on concessions, and in which public financing has a key role. (…) given the attempts by developed countries to evade their responsibilities and disguise resources destined for Official Development Assistance as climate finance resources,” Cuba added. “It is unacceptable to try to shift the financial burden to developing countries, which already face the consequences of an unjust international economic order and which are in no way responsible for the climate crisis created by a predatory development model. (…) It is false that there are not enough public finances, as we all know about the millionaire resources spent in the arms industry. Obviously, what’s missing is lack of political will”.

All this, Cuba stressed, is taking place in a context of growing challenges, in addition to the impact of the 60-plus years old economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. and the arbitrary inclusion of Cuba in the unilateral list of State sponsors of terrorism.