Scaling up $100 billion climate finance goal crucial

The target of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries adapt to and mitigate climate change will be crucial in building trust and bring countries together ahead of the Paris climate negotiations in December this year.

 

Various sources of funding from the public and private sectors and from the international development banks must be tapped to reach the realistic $100 billion climate finance target, according to a new analysis from the World Resource Institute released Thursday at the height of the Bonn climate talks.

WRI’s Getting to $100 Billion: Climate Finance Scenarios and Projections to 2020 study shows that if all considered sources are included, climate finance could total $109 to $155 billion in 2020 under projections of low-medium growth and leverage.

 

At the United Nations climate negotiations in Copenhagen in 2009, rich countries pledged to mobilize $100 billion per year by 2020 in climate finance from a wide variety of sources to help poorer countries cope with worsening effects of the changing climate and to develop a low-carbon economies. However, five years later, there were no clear guidelines on the sources, instruments and channels to realize this goal.

 

The report looks at four different scenarios using historical growth rates and private sector leverage factors. It finds that contributions from rich countries alone, will not reach $100 billion by 2020, unless it grows at an annual rate of 25 percent. It added that in 2012, developed countries contributed $17 billion in climate finance, while development banks gave $15 billion and private sector investment reached between $26 billion and $42 billion.

 

“ The projected finance flows will be made possible through concerted public policy action, including creating the right enabling environments in developing countries, embracing fiscal determination, and coordinating and engaging with the private sector,” the WRI study stated.

 

The study was analyzed by WRI’s experts Michael Westphal, Pascal Canfin, Jennifer Morgan and Filipino climate finance expert Athena Ballesteros.

 

The Green Climate Fund is expected to become one of the main delivery channels for climate finance in the future, and the projections of developed country climate finance implicitly include contributions to the Green Climate Fund, the paper added.

 

Philippine Climate Change Commission Vice-Chair Secretary Mary Ann Lucille Sering said climate finance is essential for vulnerable nations to adapt and cope with the worsening climate impacts.

 

“ Climate finance is important because it is supposed to help countries transition to a low-carbon economy,” Sering told the Philippine EnviroNews.

Last month, the Asia meeting of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), an international initiative chaired by Philippines, was organized by the Climate Change Commission of the Office of the President of Philippines with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other national and international partners. Participating Governments included Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Tajikistan, in addition to Climate Vulnerable Forum members Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

 

Vulnerable nations proposed climate actions including the establishment of a new Centre of Excellence for climate information and services in the Philippines.

 

“ Our call together with other members of the CVF is below 2 degrees. Or better at least a reference to the 1.5 degree to truly reflect ambition,” Sering added.

 

Halfway to Paris climate talks, countries however are optimistic in finding ways to keep increasing the climate finance.

 

Story by Imelda Abano

photo credit: unfccc,IVAbano