Brussels, 17/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - The G20 summit of Brisbane (15 and 16 November) made progress as regards the funding of the global fight against climate change. The commitment made by the United States to pay €3 billion over four years into the Green Climate Fund was a decisive step forward, adding to other pledges, many of them European. Greenpeace described the American announcement as “a good start” and “a useful precedent for the Lima conference” (COP 20 - 1-12 December).
Earlier, at the UN climate summit of New York on 23 September, France and Germany announced that they would pay €1 billion each into this fund over four years (EUROPE 11162). So far, promises stand at €8.5 billion out of the 10 billion hoped for by the end of the year to feed into the Fund, with the aim of raising $100 billion a year between now and 2020 to respect the commitment made by the developed countries in Copenhagen in 2009. No offers are so far forthcoming from Australia, Japan, Canada or the United Kingdom.
In Brisbane, the leaders of the richest countries reiterated their support for the mobilisation of the funding required to support the adaptation and attenuation efforts of the developing countries and their commitment to work together to adopt a text in Paris in 2015 (COP 21, December 2014) which is “legally binding and applicable to all parties”. To this end, they urge all parties to communicate their contributions by the first quarter of 2015. The leaders of the G20 welcomed the agreement between China and America signed in Beijing on 12 November (EUROPE 11196). The EU was able to announce its ambitious targets for the period 2020-2030 (a binding reduction of national greenhouse gas emissions by 40% compared to 1990 figures, at least 27% of renewable energy, at least 27% energy efficiency, 15% energy interconnection). (AN)