This Week in Global Development

Episode: The latest from COP29, and key takeaways from the G20 summit
Date: November 22, 2024
Hosts: Raj Kumar (President & Editor-in-Chief, Devex), Alyssa Miolene (Devex Global Development Reporter)
Guest: James Mwangi (Founder & CEO, Africa Climate Ventures)

Episode Overview

This episode brings timely analysis from two major global events: COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan and the G20 Summit in Rio, Brazil. Host Raj Kumar is joined by Alyssa Miolene and climate venture expert James Mwangi to unpack the latest headline developments, focusing on climate negotiations, new financial frameworks, multilateral development banks reform, and the announcement of a new Global Alliance to fight hunger.

The discussion interweaves impressions from COP29 and the G20, highlighting the interplay between political realities and the urgent need for creative development finance solutions, especially in climate adaptation, carbon markets, and food security.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Impressions from COP29: From Political Theater to Pragmatic Progress

(00:53–05:44)

• Less Focus on U.S. Election, More on Private Sector Partnerships:
  Raj notes that while there was a political “overhang,” especially concerns about Trump, the real energy at COP29 centered on technical negotiations (carbon markets) and collaboration across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors.
• COP as a Convergence Space:
  James argues that COPs have evolved into mega-platforms not just for political negotiation but also for serendipitous connections among activists, technology firms, investors, and innovators:

  “Put 65,000 people who all kind of want to work on the same thing from very different points of view... and a few good things will come out of it, not necessarily the things that will make the headline.” — James Mwangi [03:37]

• Main Goal Still Elusive:
  While technical progress was achieved, especially on carbon market frameworks (Article 6), the critical “fundraising target” remained unresolved, underscoring the difficulty of unified global action in a fraught political moment.

2. Carbon Markets as a Development Finance Tool

(05:44–11:54)

• Fading ODA, Rising Carbon Finance:
  The panel discusses declining official development assistance (ODA) from the U.S. and Europe, making carbon markets an attractive supplement for funding development, especially if tied to measurable climate benefits in agriculture and land use.
• Opportunity for the Global South:
  James expands on how the developing world—especially the tropics—holds “competitive advantage for the new carbon economy,” thanks to abundant land, labor, and solar resources:

  “60% of the world's best solar resources are in Africa. So as solar panels get cheaper, Africa has the cheapest green electrons on planet Earth.” — James Mwangi [10:00]

• A New Climate Workforce:
  He suggests positioning developing nations’ populations as “the climate workforce that will fix this problem, not for free, but as their path into middle class... prosperity.” [10:41]

3. G20 Summit in Brazil: Development Issues in the Spotlight

(12:48–14:41)

• Climate & Political Overlaps:
  Alyssa reports a strong two-way influence between COP29 and G20, with global leaders referencing each event's progress within their remarks.
• Focus on Hunger and Poverty:
  President Lula’s launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty took center stage; other topics included multilateral development bank (MDB) reforms, taxing the super rich, and climate finance.

  “Perhaps the most prominent development issue was hunger... President Lula opened the G20 summit with a global alliance against hunger and poverty.” — Alyssa Miolene [13:27]

4. Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): Shaking Up Old Structures

(14:41–20:11)

• MDBs Take Center Stage Amid Political Uncertainty:
  Raj remarks that MDBs like the World Bank are now “center stage” since donor governments are unreliable, with a focus on leveraging existing capital to crowd in private money.
• DFIs Not Matching Market Needs:
  James shares that while development finance institutions (DFIs) show “a lot of interest and support, verbal and moral,” they lack the instruments and flexibility needed by climate tech startups and early-stage enterprises.

  “They’re bringing tools that are ill suited to the moment... very little of the funding we have managed to raise... is currently coming from the DFI space.” — James Mwangi [17:06]

• Call for New Investment Structures:
  The standard “2 and 20” fund model (2% management fee, 20% performance) and short time horizons are illogical for nascent African markets, where more flexible, longer-term, and hands-on support is needed.

5. The Global Alliance Against Hunger: Coordination, Not Another Fund

(20:11–28:52)

• A Shift Away from Fragmented Funding:
  Alyssa highlights that this alliance is intentionally not a new fund, but rather a platform to link and coordinate existing country-led initiatives and resources, aiming to reduce redundancy and silos.

  “The whole purpose... is actually not to be a fund. It’s to link countries and organizations that are already doing work in this space to be less fragmented.” — Alyssa Miolene [22:24]

• Skepticism About Proliferation of Institutions:
  James warns about the international system’s tendency to repeatedly launch overlapping organizations, draining developing country attention and resources:

  "You’re 18 months in, you’re running out of your founding seed money, you haven't delivered anything because you were just setting up the team. And everyone says, that thing didn’t work, let’s go do something else." — James Mwangi [25:40]

• Demand-Driven Reforms Needed:
  Both agree: Effective development means countries must set their priorities and drive action, rather than respond to a “supply-driven” barrage of initiatives from international organizations. Alyssa notes meaningful commitments (e.g., Nigeria’s school feeding program, Bangladesh’s maternal nutrition targets) are required to join.

6. The Coming $1 Trillion Climate Target

(30:39–34:15)

• Awaiting a COP29 Fundraising Target:
  Raj explains that the big headline coming soon may be a new “collective quantified goal” of $1 trillion per year for global climate action — but the details (grants vs. loans, real vs. aspirational) are crucial.
• Political Realities:
  James argues that the chance of a trillion-dollar grant transfer is slim in today’s political context, urging realism and smart structuring to maximize impact.

  “Let’s be realistic about what... saying we’re going to find a trillion dollars of grant-based transfers... I just don’t see that as being in the realm of possibility right now...” — James Mwangi [32:36]

• The Importance of Nuance:
  He cites The Economist’s recent analysis, noting much climate finance is not “new” money, and that reframing the incremental financing gap (perhaps closer to $400 billion) could make the challenge less overwhelming and more actionable.

Notable Quotes

• On COP’s Evolving Role:
  “The point is actually hundreds of different things that constitute progress on a range of gnarly and difficult issues probably happened and a bunch of others did not happen.”
  — James Mwangi [03:57]

• On African Opportunity in Renewables:
  “Africa has the cheapest green electrons on planet Earth.”
  — James Mwangi [10:00]

• On MDBs and DFIs Lagging Behind:
  “Very little of the funding... is currently coming from the DFI space. Not because there’s not a recognition of the value, but because... they’re bringing tools that are ill suited to the moment.”
  — James Mwangi [17:06]

• On Institutional Fatigue:
  “You’re just spending... figuring out, wow, I just made this pitch or I just reached out for this thing to the wrong organization. I have to figure out the right one.”
  — James Mwangi [25:02]

• On Political Limits of Grant-based Climate Finance:
  “What can we get right now to begin the work and how do we build on that?... Let’s be realistic...”
  — James Mwangi [32:36]

Important Timestamps

• [02:56] – James on COP’s evolving purpose and benefits
• [05:44] – Article 6 carbon market agreements and ODA decline
• [10:00] – Africa’s solar and renewable energy potential
• [13:27] – G20 launches Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty
• [14:41] – MDBs and DFIs in current development finance landscape
• [22:24] – Structure and intent of new Global Alliance against Hunger
• [25:02] – Fragmentation and exhaustion from overlapping institutions
• [32:05] – Anticipated $1 trillion/year climate finance target: political realities
• [34:15] – The limits of advocacy for ever-growing donor commitments

Memorable Moments

• Alyssa broadcasting from sunny Rio, contrasting with others dialed in from D.C. and Nairobi.
• Raj emphasizing the sheer complexity of financing arrangements now at the heart of both the G20 and COP29 deliberations.
• James’ clear, candid critique of the slow pace of innovation among MDBs and DFIs, and the fatigue induced by repetitive, headline-seeking institutional launches.
• The recurring theme: real progress will hinge on demand-driven, country-led priorities and pragmatic expectations about the scale and mechanics of global development finance.

This episode provides a reality check on global development’s current landscape: considerable innovation and coordination, tempered by political headwinds and a systemic need for practical, country-centered reform rather than endless new announcements.