Japan, US miss UN climate change fund deadline

• 9 years ago (2015-05-01)
• Junior Isles

Asia 850 North America 998

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A key UN climate fund ran into difficult yesterday as major donors including Japan and the United States failed to meet a deadline for converting their pledges of climate aid into signed agreements.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), established to become the main international channel of climate finance for developing countries, said it had signed deals for 42 per cent of the $10 billion that governments pledged last year. It needs to reach 50 per cent to start considering projects for funding – something it hopes to do before the COP 21 climate summit in Paris in December.

Executive Director Hela Cheikhrouhou urged governments that have not finalised agreements to do so “urgently” so the fund can start allocating money.

The US pledged $3 billion to the fund while Japan promised $1.5 billion.

Observers said the US delay was expected because of how the legislative process works.

“Despite US missing the deadline, negotiations are ongoing and must be concluded as soon as possible so the GCF can start to disburse,” said Athena Ronquillo-Ballesteros of the World Resources Institute in Washington.

The GCF was created to help developing countries to limit their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to unavoidable consequences of climate change.

Cheikhrouhou said the fund would not completely exclude any technologies that can help reduce emissions, despite calls from environmentalists for a ban on funding for coal plants and other fossil fuels.

Some countries, including Japan, say support for coal-fired power plants should count as climate finance if they use new high-efficiency combustion technologies that reduce CO ₂ emissions, compared to older coal plants.

“A fund to combat climate change should not exacerbate climate change, period,” said Karen Orenstein of Friends of the Earth. “People around the world will be watching the GCF extremely closely to make sure it does not finance a single fossil fuel.”