Isra-Mart srl:EU claims to have honoured climate funding pledge

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-mart srl news:

The EU will attend the UN's upcoming climate summit in Cancun backed by evidence that it has made good on its pledge to deliver €2.2bn ($3bn) of "fast-start" climate financing for developing countries this year.

As part of last year's Copenhagen Accord, industrialised countries agreed to provide $30bn of aid for investment in climate mitigation and adaptation measures in poorer countries between 2010 and 2012.

The commitment was seen as a critical component of the deal, and served as a means of reassuring developing countries that richer nations were willing to back up rhetoric on the need to fight climate change with actual investment.

The EU is now preparing to confirm that it has made good on the first part of its funding pledge, with a draft report obtained by Reuters stating that "the EU member states and the European Commission have confirmed €2.2bn of fast-start finance in 2010, thereby remaining on track to meet its overall commitment of €7.2bn across the 2010-12 fast-start period".

According to Reuters, the report provides details on the wide variety of projects that have received funding from EU states, including a €300,000 German grant to help Mozambique build a flood warning system, a €400,000 payment from the Czech Republic to Ethiopia to improve water supplies and tackle erosion, and a €900,000 grant, again from Germany, to help tackle greenhouse gas emissions from old refrigerators in Brazil.

The report also reveals that despite being on track to deliver on its commitment, four of the EU's 27 member countries have not delivered on their funding promises.

The final report is likely to be pored over by environmental and development groups who have repeatedly accused the EU and other industrialised nations of repackaging existing aid commitments as climate financing to help meet the pledges made in Cancun.

Climate financing is expected to dominate much of the agenda at the Cancun Summit, which kicks off on November 29 and will be attended by ministers from more than 190 countries.

Diplomats are expected to receive an update on the extent to which the full $30bn of "fast start" financing has been delivered and will also discuss the recent UN-backed report, which details how up to $100bn a year of funding could be raised from 2020.

The report, which was produced by an independent group of leading politicians, economists, and entrepreneurs, contains a wide range of recommendations, including proposals for an international levy on aviation and shipping, a new tax on foreign exchange transactions, and the extension of the global carbon market.