Contributions to Green Climate Fund alarmingly low
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Friends of the Earth International today demanded that developed nations provide the Green Climate Fund with the resources they pledged to it in 2014, warning that the contributions made so far are alarmingly low.
The Green Climate Fund, or GCF, announced yesterday that countries had missed a deadline to provide the contributions needed for the Fund to begin allocating money to developing countries.
The Fund — which plays a key role in providing the financial resources needed to enable developing countries to move to low-emission and climate-resilient futures — received only US$ 4 billion equivalent in contributions by the 30 April 2015 deadline.
The US$ 4 billion represents only 42 percent of the amount that was committed during the Fund’s initial pledging conference in 2014, while at least 50 percent of the funds, or US$ 4.7 billion, should have been legally committed in order for the GCF to be effective.
In total, slightly less than US$ 10.2 billion has been pledged to the GCF over a 4-year period, which is about US$ 2.5 billion per year.
“Developed countries’ failure to meet this deadline really exposes the lack of commitment they have towards the Green Climate Fund and climate finance in general. Developing countries cannot adequately push for an energy transformation or address the exorbitantly expensive climate crisis without the urgent funds pledged by developed countries, which overwhelmingly caused the climate crisis,” said Dipti Bhatnagar of Friends of the Earth International.
“The money is urgently needed by real people coping every day with extreme weather events, public health crises and food insecurity, leading to hunger, suffering and even death,” she continued.
Climate finance and the Green Climate Fund are seen as essential components of an international climate agreement expected to be signed in Paris in December 2015.
“Developed countries are supposed to contribute US$ 100 billion annually by 2020 in climate finance. But the failure to meet this latest deadline does not bode well for the realization of the US$ 100 billion. And even this is far less than the minimum necessary to actually address the adaptation, loss and damage and mitigation needs of people in developing countries,” stated Meena Raman of Friends of the Earth Malaysia.
“Will countries be able to achieve a climate agreement in Paris based on science and justice when developed countries can’t even cobble together US$ 4.7 billion for the Green Climate Fund?” asked Karen Orenstein of Friends of the Earth U.S. “We urge all developed nations to act now on climate finance and provide the GCF with the necessary funds to start allocating money to developing countries,” she added.
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Expert contacts:
Karen Orenstein, Friends of the Earth US, +1-202 640 8679, [email protected]
Meena Raman, Friends of the Earth Malaysia, +41-79 50 65 039, [email protected]