Developing countries need clarity on promised climate finance: UN env chief

Nagpur: “Developing countries need clarity from the developed world on when the promised climate finance will appear on the table. The promise was $100 billion per year but we are closer to about $83 million only,” said Inger Andersen, who is the under-secretary general of the United Nations as well as the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in an exclusive chat with TOI.
Highlighting that the amount is an “improvement, and slow progress”, Andersen called for a need to demonstrate solidarity on what has long been a sticky point – climate financing. “We have made progress but it is nowhere near enough,” she said.
The UN environment chief stressed that the countries must come together to support action on loss and damage. “As our planet continues to get hotter, people will continue to suffer, and a limit will be reached when they no longer have the capacity to adapt. We need to see time-bound dialogue with clear milestones on financing and other aspects, and a clear path on the way forward,” said Andersen.
For the first time in the history of climate negotiations, loss and damage was put on the official agenda at COP27 currently being held in Egypt. Agreeing that the progress on loss and damage has been stalled, Andersen said, “We need to look no further than the tragedy unfolding in Pakistan, Nigeria and the Horn of Africa to know that we simply cannot continue to kick the climate can of burden down the road and give the bill to the poorest and most vulnerable of countries and people.”
On the role of G20 nations which account for 75% of the global emissions load, Andersen said, “We must see real leadership from this group to help us reduce emissions which need to drop by 45% by 2030 to see any chance of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C. We can no longer delude ourselves into believing that we can insulate ourselves from climate change. If India has climate change, then we all have climate change. What happens in one country travels whether in terms of economic distress, stalled trade, health risks, or forced displacement of communities.”
When asked about her expectations from the on-going climate talks, Andersen said that the world has procrastinated on climate action for almost three decades now. “Meanwhile, climate change has moved from a future threat to an existential one that has reached our homes. So, at COP27 we must see ambitious and aggressive acceleration so that we close the gaps on reducing emissions, financing climate and resilience efforts, and tackling loss and damage,” she added.
Last week, the UN secretary-general António Guterres's high-level expert group provided recommendations to upgrade the credibility and accountability of net zero pledges by non-state entities. “We must do a far better job of holding ourselves and each other to account for the commitments we are making. Words are easy, but real actions and credibility matter greatly,” said Andersen.