Developing countries in limbo as rich nations delay new climate finance plans

Résumé détaillé

Many governments are yet to set targets, leaving recipient countries struggling to plan and attract private investmentDeveloping countries have been left in limbo by the failure…

Many governments are yet to set targets, leaving recipient countries struggling to plan and attract private investment

Developing countries have been left in limbo by the failure of some of the world’s biggest economies to flesh out their plans for new climate finance.

Poor countries are supposed to receive $300bn a year from the governments of industrialised nations by 2035, along with about $1tn from other sources, to help them cope with the effects of extreme weather and shift to a low-carbon future.

But many rich governments have not yet set out their targets and plans for providing climate finance beyond the end of this year or next. This gap is damaging because it means recipient countries cannot plan and makes it harder for them to attract private sector investment to supplement the public sector money.

Analysis by the NRDC and E3G thinktanks seen by the Guardian shows that the developed world is broadly on track to meet the $300bn a year goal – known as the NCQG, or national collective quantitative goal – set at the Cop29 conference two years ago. By 2030 they should be providing about $229bn a year. The multilateral development banks should provide about $185bn of that.

Joe Thwaites, international climate finance director at the National Resources Defence Council, co-wrote the original analysis along with the E3G thinktank and told the Guardian that unless development banks and national governments made sharp cuts in the next round of financing, which is unlikely, the target would be almost met.

“Most countries look in quite good shape on climate finance,” he said. “The problem is that they’re not being very public about it.”

If the EU continues its current provision of about $36bn a year (which is likely) then – taking into account the pledges already made by the UK, Canada and some other smaller countries – there would remain a gap of about $7bn to fill.

If a different president is in the White House, the US could make up some of the shortfall, along with Japan…

Début de l'article, extrait de The Guardian Business. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.