New global climate finance promises for developing countries not met – ECA
A new report has found that promises for ‘new and additional’ climate finance for developing countries has not been met.
The report by the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) shows that “only a small fraction, less than 11%, of currently provided climate finance meets the UN commitment of being “new and additional.”
It finds that there are many lessons to be learnt from the current ‘fast start finance’ system, which was supposed to deliver $30 billion in ‘new and additional’ funding to developing countries agreed at the Copenhagen climate conference.
Speaking at the launch of the report on the sidelines of COP 18 in Doha, Dr. Fatima Denton, the Coordinator of ACPC, had said, ‘the experience with the “fast-start” pledges and discussions of the $100 billion promise suggests that the adequacy and predictability of climate finance may remain very low if the future climate finance architecture reflects current practice.”
“Current practice is that only one dollar in every ten is new and additional,” she said.
According to her, “African countries, as well as many other developing countries, are vulnerable to climate change and are among those least likely to have the resources required to withstand its adverse impacts – yet there has not been any indication that the magnitude of climate finance will meet the scale of what is needed.”
“The key lesson from the updated report is that developed countries should commit (at COP18) to provide a detailed climate finance roadmap 2013-2020 by which they demonstrate how they intend to fulfil the 100 billion promise by 2020, i.e. a scenario showing the gradual increase of climate finance between 2013 and 2020,” Denton said.
Adding that, “Such a scenario would include intermediate targets (say for 2013 and 2017), the share of public finance, and provide clarity on the mix of both direct budget contributions.”
Commenting on the report, Dr. Emannuel Dlamini, Chair of the African Group of Climate Change Negotiators said that the lack of transparency and slow disbursement of the financial resources pledged by developed country parties as “fast start” finance for the period 2010-2012 is a real cause for concern to Africa.
“We call on developed countries to fully implement their commitments relating to financial resources and the transfer of technology as an important step towards addressing the common challenge of climate change,” he said.
He argued that long-term climate finance needs to be accountable and transparent.
“In Africa, we need to know how much is new, where it is coming from, and whether it will be directed to the adaptation projects that are desperately necessary,” he said.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi