Climate finance support to developing countries imperative for ambitious climate action

Climate change is increasingly making its impact felt worldwide. Everyone is suffering, but the poor in the developing world is bearing the brunt of the impacts. It is not fair that those who did not contribute to the problem of climate change are suffering the most, and sometimes even paying with their lives. The developed world, historically responsible for causing climate change must own responsibility and fulfil longstanding commitments to reduce emissions and provide developing countries the means—finance, technology, capacity building—to deal with climate change.

Under the Paris Agreement on climate change countries agreed to climate action via nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Developed countries have been mandated to help developing countries with the means to achieve their climate goals. However, they have reneged on their commitments time and again. This cannot continue.

The Green Climate Fund is going through its first formal replenishment in 2019, after which a needs assessment of developing countries and a new collective goal on finance is to be agreed. Calls for ambitious goals must be accompanied by calls for ambitious support to developing countries who are facing overriding social and environmental challenges. While climate action is urgent, support to developing countries for such action is even more urgent.

Read this chapter here.

By Indrajit Bose, Third World Network (TWN).

Source: Report Spotlight on Sustainable Development 2019.