What is international climate finance?29 November 2010
Friends of the Earth US have written an overview to climate finance.
International climate finance is the transfer of funds from developed countries to developing countries to enable them to:
- Adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change (adaptation).
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation).
- Embark on clean energy development paths.
The world can't afford for developing countries to travel down the same dirty-development road that already-industrialised-countries took.
This road has landed us on the edge of a climate calamity - travelling any further will push us over the edge.
Polluter pays principle
Polluters are responsible for cleaning-up the mess they cause - therefore developed nations are responsible for cleaning up the climate crisis.
Developed countries - top among them the United States - must use public funds to provide climate finance.
Historical responsibility
Climate finance is also grounded in the developed world's responsibility for causing the climate crisis.
The provision of climate finance can be seen as part of a repayment of the climate debt that we owe the developing world.
It's also a legal obligation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Global climate fund
We're calling for the establishment of a global climate fund under the UNFCCC - with no role for the World Bank.
The World Bank is the top lender to environmentally and socially destructive projects around the world.
It would be unacceptable for the World Bank to control climate finance.
Further information
International climate finance: an overview
A briefing by Friends of the Earth US contextualising the current negotiations around climate finance at the UNFCCC in Cancun, Mexico.
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