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Photo: Mika Baumeister/Unsplash
- Founded in 2010, the GCF is the largest fund set up to provide financial support to poor countries to help combat the climate crisis within their borders.
- Rich countries are pouring money into the GCF, in defiance of their legal obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.
- Under the UK Contribution Agreement, we have pledged to contribute £1.44 billion to the GCF Trust Fund in installments over four years.
- By 30 September 2022, £362 million, or $409 million, had to be paid. The GCF Secretariat informed the Board that the UK was unable to pay her $288 million of this.
- The GCF Board has thus postponed three projects, but the default also casts doubt on developed countries’ demands for ambitious climate action from others.
After a lofty speech since taking the presidency of last year’s UN climate negotiations, the UK has now failed to deliver on its annual pledged funding to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
As a result, a fund set up to provide climate change finance to poor countries had to defer aid, even though three proposals from those countries had already been approved.
In June 2022, Alok Sharma, who heads the UK government at the climate negotiations in Glasgow, said, “This is the year that world leaders deliver on the commitments made at COP26 to stay at 1.5°.”
(Parties to the Paris Agreement must use their best efforts to ensure that global average surface temperature does not rise below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It means to keep the pact.In letter and spirit.)
“We will work to increase funding for adaptation, including private sector mobilization,” added Sharma.
But at a recent GCF board meeting in Incheon, South Korea, UK board member Sarah Metcalfe said the board was in crisis after the kingdom failed to deliver on its promise to expire in September 2022. I admitted that
Specifically, an internal GCF presentation reviewed by the authors showed that the UK government had failed to pay the $288 million pledged to the fund by September this year.
Britain’s failure to keep its promises will be embarrassed at the next UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on 6 November. Pass the baton to Egypt in November.
“The UK is in its last 10 days as COP presidency, but they can’t pay and they’re also one of the four biggest donors,” said a developing country attending the GCF meeting. diplomat said on the following terms: Anonymous due to political considerations. “The quantity is amazing…”
The authors emailed questions to UK government and GCF Secretariat officials, including the UK GCF Advisor and the GCF Executive Director. A GCF communications officer responded: I will refer them to your questions below. The UK government has yet to respond at the time of publication. If I do so later, the article will be updated.
“Ambitious climate action in developing countries depends on ambitious support from developed countries,” said another developing country diplomat who attended the council. “While this is mandated by Convention 1 and the Paris Agreement, developed countries have consistently failed to meet their commitments and commitments for climate finance. This does not bode well for the upcoming negotiations at COP27.”
fund without money
Founded in 2010, the GCF is the largest fund set up to provide financial support to poor countries to help combat the climate crisis within their borders.
Wealthy countries fund the GCF to help poorer countries stem the impacts of the climate crisis and adapt, contrary to their legal obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and the Paris Agreement. is pouring in. The fund’s board then allocates it to beneficiary countries for specific climate-related projects.
On October 16, the Board released a report listing the funding proposals considered at the 34th board meeting. In the report he listed nine projects, three of which were deferred so that the total cost would not exceed the funds available at the time.
When the GCF receives a proposal, its secretariat first reviews it, shortlists some, and submits the list to an independent expert body called the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP). TAP then selects projects from this list and presents them to the Board for approval.
In its October 16 report, the GCF Board said it would skip consideration of three projects that had been approved by the Secretariat and TAP, following guidance from its two co-chairs.
The diplomat above said: The proposal therefore had to be abandoned as no payment was made from the UK. ”
But they weren’t dropped without a contest. His GCF Director for Pakistan, Nauman Bashir Bhatti, pointed out that “postponing the project has certain consequences”. On the Board, Pakistan now speaks on behalf of the developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
Tanguy Guillaume Gahuma Bekale, GCF Executive Board Member for Gabon, speaking on behalf of developing country parties from Africa, expressed concern about the three postponed proposals. Erica Lennon, an active observer of civil society organizations in developed countries, called the decision of serious concern.
In response, Mr Metcalfe, the UK representative on the Board, said: “The UK failed to make payments in September prior to the Board meeting. It was under pressure, and as a result the UK temporarily suspended some payments.” ODA stands for “Official Development Assistance”.
A UK Contribution Agreement signed with the GCF in 2019 pledged to provide the GCF Trust Fund with £1.44 billion in installments over four years. By 30 September 2022, £362 million, or $409 million, had to be paid. The GCF Secretariat informed the Board that the UK was unable to pay her $288 million of this.
The UK said its failure was due to its ongoing economic crisis and the suspension of some of its ODA payments. ODA is money paid from developed countries to developing countries as economic assistance. Since the crisis began, the UK government has cut aid from her 0.7% to about 0.5% of gross national income.
On the one hand, international treaties such as the UN FCCC, and the agreements under it, such as the Paris Agreement, do not explicitly allow countries to break their commitments due to changing domestic economic and political circumstances. On the other hand, the agreement does not penalize countries for failing to meet their commitments. Nor does the country face the reputational damage in the market as it would if it did not meet its obligations to repay its government bonds.
At a meeting in Incheon, representatives of developing countries expressed concern that a situation similar to the UK’s debt default could recur. A participant from Pakistan added that some contingency is necessary to avoid future delays.
The focus now shifts to the COP27 climate negotiations, which will be held among delegates from more than 190 countries in Egypt, where climate finance is expected to be a major issue. Britain’s failure to meet its financial commitments underscores the importance of the talks and promises to heat up negotiations.
Marinari is researchers with Land dispute monitoringan independent network of researchers studying land conflicts, climate change and natural resource governance in India.
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