Isra-Mart srl:UN postpones crucial green fund meeting

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Any hope the spirit of improved co-operation evident at last year's Cancun climate change summit would continue through to this year's negotiations appears to be receding, after the UN yesterday confirmed a crucial meeting to discuss the formation of a proposed "Green Climate Fund" has been delayed following a row over who should attend.

A commitment to stage the first meeting of a new transitional committee tasked with laying the foundations for an international fund responsible for distributing climate-related investment this month was one of the few deadlines set as part of last year's Cancun Accords.

But the UN's climate change secretariat released a statement yesterday confirming that "the first meeting of the Transitional Committee... scheduled to be held on 14-15 March in Mexico City... has been postponed until the latter part of April 2011".

According to various reports, the delay has been caused by disagreements among Asian and Latin America nations over who should sit on the new committee.

The Green Fund is expected to be tasked with distributing up to $100bn of climate adaptation and mitigation spending each year from 2020 and as such large numbers of developing countries are keen to get an inside track on how the fund will be managed.

The committee is meant to have 25 members from developing countries and 15 representatives from industrialised nations.

Europe has reportedly confirmed its eight delegates, but the Asian bloc of nations have said they will not be able to confirm their seven members before April and 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries are said to be tussling for seven seats.

Speaking following a meeting in Tokyo this week to discuss this year's negotiations, UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said a separate meeting of ministers would still take place in Mexico this month to discuss the upcoming work agenda for the negotiations, including the formation of the Green Fund.