EU must ensure adequate climate finance for developing countries

Bairbre de Brún MEP has called on the EU to ensure adequate climate finance for developing countries following a report that the ‘early start’ funding in the Copenhagen Accord could fall short of what was promised at that time.

Ms de Brún has said that any failure to provide adequate ‘early start’ funding will not only increase the risk for developing countries in their effort to deal with climate change but will send damaging signals about the EUs commitment in advance of the UN talks in Bonn and in Cancún.

According to a Council report, ‘a comprehensive set of statistics for climate financing is clearly needed’.

Ms de Brún said:

“We urgently need clarity on the level of climate funding and the source of the funding as well as the administration and distribution. Any lack of clarity will damage both the efforts of developing countries and the atmosphere for negotiating a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal on tackling climate change.

“Climate change is being caused mainly by the richer countries and the very poor and vulnerable countries who suffer most have not contributed to the problem at all.

“If the 30 billion dollars which industrialised countries were to provide between 2010 and 2010 cannot be mobilised, what hope is there that the larger sum of 100 billion dollars to be provided by 2020 will materialise? If the EU does not clearly show that it will pay its share what hope is there that other industrialised countries will step up to the mark?

“The EU must demonstrate sufficient clarity and transparency about its fast track financing pledges and reports that members states through the Council have still left a significant amount to be allocated are very worrying indeed.”