Brussels, 08/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - In good news on the climate financing front, a study published by the OECD on Thursday 8 October reveals that, in 2014, US$61.8 billion was mobilised by developed countries for climate action. At COP 15 in Copenhagen in 2009, the wealthy countries promised $100 billion per year by 2020 to support adaptation and mitigation efforts in developing countries.
The OECD speaks of “encouraging” progress. The report was presented in Lima ahead of the G20 finance ministers' meeting on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Bank and the IMF. “We are about halfway in terms of time and more than halfway there in terms of finance, but clearly there is still some way to go”, said OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria.
The report provides a robust, up-to-date estimate of public and private climate finance mobilised in 2013 and 2014.
Public finance, either bilateral or multilateral, provided the lion's share, accounting for more than 70% of the flows over the period ($37.9 billion in 2013 and $43.5 billion in 2014, making an average of $40.7 for the two years), while mobilised private finance made up more than 25% ($12.8 billion in 2013 and $16.7 billion in 2014, an average of $14.7 billion) and export credits the remaining 5% ($1.6 billion in both 2013 and 2014).
Over three-quarters of total estimated climate finance was to support mitigation activities, with about one sixth going to support adaptation and a small share targeting both.
The report was commissioned by the French Presidency of the COP 21 and the later Peruvian COP Presidency.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who will chair the COP 21, expressed his delight. “This report provides detailed findings, for the first time since 2009, on progress in the commitment by the countries of the North to mobilise $100 billion for climate action by 2020. These estimates show us that a significant part of the way has been covered. We now have to make concerted efforts to find the $40 billion that we are still short”, he said, hoping that the climate financing meeting in Lima “will provide new ambitious commitments, for example, from multilateral development banks”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)