CAN Says Majority Of Countries Fail To Deliver Fair Share For GCF

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The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Pledging Conference concluded here today with pledges now totaling US$9.7 billion.  By doubling on their initial contribution to the GCF, a handful of developed countries signaled they are ready to take responsibility in tackling the climate emergency but the vast majority of contributor countries should have come to the table with much more. In particular, Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Austria and Belgium failed to deliver their fair share and must bridge this shortfall as a matter of urgency. They must use the UN climate meeting COP25 in Santiago in Chile this December as an opportunity to do so. 

With their decision to withhold funding to the GCF, the governments of the United States and Australia have turned their backs on the world’s poorest and have once again isolated themselves in global efforts to respond to the climate emergency.This US$9.7 billion for the next four years will allow the GCF to continue pursuing its mandate by funding adaptation and mitigation projects in developing countries and supporting the most vulnerable communities.

Millions of people, particularly in the developing world, are already facing the limits of adaptation. While the overall funding needed to transform our societies to avert climate and ecological breakdown runs into trillions of dollars, every dollar matters in the worsening climate emergency. We urge countries to continue to generously fill the Fund through the entire replenishment period. As we enter a milestone year in implementing the Paris Agreement in 2020, we must renew global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.  Fair, transparent and predictable finance is hardwired into principles of equity and is critical to unlock conditionalities in national climate plans and ramp up climate targets in 2020.