Rich nations break promise, little climate finance for South Asia

(Eco Business, 10 Dec 2020) Developed countries are taking action to reduce their own carbon emissions, but they are not coughing up enough money to help vulnerable poorer countries do the same, or adapt to the intensifying impacts of climate change.

Eleven years after developed countries committed to delivering US$100 billion a year to help poor nations deal with climate change, they have fallen short of the target both in terms of quantity and, more importantly, quality of the finance earmarked for climate action.

This shortfall, experts say, will disproportionately affect South Asia, a region prone to natural disasters and deeply dependent on carbon intensive energy and so needing significant support to tackle both vulnerabilities in unison.

The fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement will be celebrated on December 12 at the Climate Ambition Summit, a virtual conference co-hosted by Britain and France, in partnership with Chile, Italy and the UN. The event is an opportunity to take stock of the mitigation and adaptation promises made in 2015, announce further commitments to reduce carbon emissions and count the money spent or pledged since the 2009 UN climate talks in Copenhagen.

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Eco Business, 10 Dec 2020: Rich nations break promise, little climate finance for South Asia