​
http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1657877/nearly-half-climate-change-financing-went-10-countries-uk-think-tank-says
​
​​
Nearly half the climate change financing went to 10 countries, UK think
tank says
Those most at risk lag in obtaining financial support, UK think tank says
PUBLISHED : Monday, 08 December, 2014, 10:00pm
UPDATED : Monday, 08 December, 2014, 10:00pm
Half of nearly US$8 billion in climate finance given to the developing
world since 2003 went to just 10 countries, and nations most at risk got
the short end of the stick, a report said.
The top recipients were Morocco, Mexico and Brazil, which each got more
than US$500 million of the US$7.6 billion total, according to an analysis
of spending over the last decade in 135 countries.
The report of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a UK think tank,
was released ahead of the second and final week of UN negotiations in Lima
for a world pact to curb potentially disastrous global warming.
People drive their cars along 23 de Maio Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Photo: AP"Mexico and Brazil are among the top 10 emitters of greenhouse
gases, and with Morocco, all have huge renewable energy potential," said a
statement.
However, many of the poorest countries were left behind.
"Conflict-affected and fragile states such as Ivory Coast and South Sudan,
where it is generally difficult to spend finance, received less than
US$350,000 and US$700,000 respectively," said an ODI statement.
"Several middle income countries that are vulnerable to the impacts of
climate change and have significant clean energy potential, such as
Namibia, El Salvador and Guatemala, also received less than US$5 million
each."
The aid from rich nations is meant to help poor and vulnerable countries
adapt to climate change impacts and curb earth-warming greenhouse gas
emissions through a shift away from fossil fuels such oil, coal and gas.
Funding for adaptation rocketed from US$3.8 million in 2003 to US$2 billion
this year, said the report.
"While not enough, the trends in spending are positive," it said. "Poor
countries such as Niger, Bangladesh and Nepal have received nearly US$400
million over the last decade to help them cope with this growing threat."
However, the 10 most vulnerable nations, including Somalia, the Solomon
Islands, Burundi, Niger and Eritrea, benefited from only seven per cent of
the adaptation aid.
"Effective use of climate finance will help win the support of poor
countries which have contributed the least to climate change but bear the
brunt of its impacts," Smita Nakhooda, the report's author, said. Finance
is a sore point at the UN climate talks, with the developing nations
insisting that the rich economies show how they intend to honour promises
to muster up to US$100 billion in climate finance per year from 2020.
To date, nearly US$10 billion in start-up capital had been promised for the
Green Climate Fund, the main vehicle for channelling the money.
On Friday, a UN report said that the developing countries might need up to
US$500 billion per year by 2050 just for adaptation alone.
"There are now too many small climate funding 'pots' with substantial
overlap and finance is spread too thinly between them," Nakhooda said.
"The lives of millions of people in poor countries affected by climate
change depend on getting this right."
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as
Poorest states lose out in climate aid
Received on Mon Dec 08 2014 - 19:25:37 EST