Under the Copenhagen Accord signed in December, the world’s richest countries pledged billions of dollars in climate finance to help fund adaptation and mitigation initiatives in poor and vulnerable countries. However a new analysis by the World Resources Institute (WRI) finds that a relative small proportion of the money committed for such efforts is actually new.
“The major findings from the analysis suggest that short-term pledges fall short of the US$30 billion promised by developed countries; only some EU member states have submitted long-term finance pledges and we have yet to see pledges from all developed countries,” Jessica Forres of WRI wrote via email.
By WRI’s count, industrialized nations have to date pledged nearly $27 billion during the 2010-2012 period, but much of the money comes under earlier commitments and is not additional to existing official development assistance (ODA).
WRI notes:
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To “fast start” the Copenhagen Accord, developed countries committed, collectively, “to provide new and additional resources, including forestry and investments through international institutions, approaching USD 30 billion for the period 2010-2012 with balanced allocation between adaptation and mitigation.” Developed countries also agreed to a goal of jointly mobilizing, over the longer term an additional “100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries. This funding will come from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance.”
WRI says its table will be continuously updated as more information becomes available.
Summary of Climate Finance Pledges Put Forward by Developed Countries [PDF]
