‘We have no time to lose’: Ban Ki-moon criticises climate finance delays

(The Guardian, 24 Feb 2023) Former UN secretary general calls for rich countries to honour promises made to the developing world after years of failure.

The former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has warned that the world’s largest fund to help developing nations weather the climate crisis remains an “empty shell”, despite decades of promises by rich nations.

“We need to see a massive acceleration in mobilising trillions of dollars needed to keep the world from climate collapse,” he said.

International climate finance from rich to poor countries is between five and 10 times short of what is needed, according to the UN. In 2020, money set aside to help poorer countries adapt to climate breakdown amounted to $29bn – far below the $340bn a year that could be needed by 2030.

The largest such fund, the Green Climate Fund, stands at $11.4bn. Rich countries have also been accused by NGOs of misleading accounting and issuing loans instead of grants.

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The Guardian, 24 Feb 2023: ‘We have no time to lose’: Ban Ki-moon criticises climate finance delays