Divisive issue of reaching $100b in climate funds

In his remarks to the Ministers he urged the developed countries to mobilize new climate finance resources beyond their official development assistance (ODA) and above what is already on the table stating that ‘mobilization is about more than accounting.’ The UN chief also commended Germany France and the United Kingdom for making pledges recently to double their public climate finance commitments. $62 billion in 2014 represents a significant upward trend in climate finance which shows that goal of $100 billion by 2020 is within reach.

“Africa today contributes just two percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, but Africa is the one that suffers most from the impact of climate change”, Adesina told AFP on the sidelines of the global Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Lima, Peru.

Fight against climate change got more impetus recently with the World Bank announcing that it will increase climate financing to potentially $29 billion annually.

“The world needs stronger voices from developing countries to draw more attention to their great needs for investment in fighting the impacts from climate change”, World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim said in a statement on the V20 meeting.

This should help increase transparency around climate finance.

A report issued this week by the 29-country Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated $62 billion was spent last year, up from $52 billion the previous year.

The World Bank and other multilateral institutions “haven’t done a lot”, said Sapin.

The charity’s climate change policy expert Isabel Kreisler said finance ministers should agree at least half of “public funding going towards the $100bn goal should be for adaptation”.

The report will likely cause tensions among wealthy nations, who will enjoy supported evidence that they are committed to supporting greener energy in the Global South, while low-income countries will find the financing to be insufficient.

Tapping new climate funding will also be on the agenda as finance ministers from the leading industrialized and emerging economies gather for a G20 meeting.

The countries include the Philippines, Bangladesh, Costa Rica and island nations and are home to almost 700 million people.

But Tim Gore, head of climate change and food policy with Oxfam global, said although it was good business for companies to protect supply chains and staff from climate threats, they had little incentive to invest in helping the poorest cope, underlining the urgent need for more public money.

The World Financial institution and different worldwide banks made billions of dollars of recent pledges on Friday, on high of guarantees which have been made by particular person nations. “The true query is in regards to the shifting of the trillions”.

Requested by governments, the analysis lays out a much-needed framework for tracking how money earmarked for climate action moves between countries, development banks and private sources, the authors said.