You might have seen on our Instagram yesterday, that New Zealand committed $1.2 billion in climate aid for vulnerable communities, with half of the support going towards Pacific nations. The latest announcement means New Zealand now meets its share of global climate funding. Under the Paris Agreement, developed countries have committed to collectively scaling up climate finance for vulnerable countries. But what is the specific goal?
So, what is the $100 billion climate finance goal?
In 2010, prior to the Paris Agreement, developed nations began significantly scaling up climate finance support to vulnerable countries. After a few years, a specific climate finance target of mobilising $US100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action in vulnerable countries was set and the developed nations formulated a roadmap to ensure this target was met. The funding is to be used for supporting mitigation and adaptation within the vulnerable nations.
Which nations are part of the group?
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, European Commission, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and the U.S.
Was the target met last year?
No, the group of developed countries fell short of its target. Although the appropriately verified data will not be available until next year, according to OECD Secretary-General (and former Coalition Minister) Mathias Cormann, “climate finance continued to grow in 2019 but developed countries remain USD 20 billion short of meeting the 2020 goal of mobilising USD 100 billion”.
According to the OECD “climate finance provided and mobilised by developed countries for developing countries totalled USD 79.6 billion in 2019, up 2% from 78.3 billion in 2018”. This now means it is up to the governments of nations to follow the steps of New Zealand in order to meet the goal.
