Rounding success for the first international replenishment meeting of the Green Climate Fund. The high-level donor conference of this UN fund ended on Friday, 25 October, in Paris, with the confirmation of a commitment of $9.8 billion (8.84 billion euros) in pledges for the period 2020-2023.
Before the event began, $7.4 billion in commitments had already been announced from 16 countries (Austria, Canada, Denmark, Spain, France, Hungary, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom), 9 of which have at least doubled their 2014 contribution in an attempt to compensate for the US government's defection (see EUROPE 12356/25).
A shortfall of $2 billion out of the $3 billion promised by the United States before Donald Trump announced his country's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
The Green Climate Fund, established in 2009, is essential to mobilise the $100 billion per year pledged since COP15 to developing countries by 2020 to support their adaptation and mitigation efforts (reducing their greenhouse gas emissions). This commitment was confirmed in the Paris Agreement at the COP21.
New announcements include commitments from Belgium ($40 million), Finland ($100 million) and New Zealand ($15 million).
To date, funding of $5.2 billion for 111 projects in 99 countries has been approved.
"The GCF remains open for contributions on a rolling basis. We expect to see additional pledges in the coming months and years", said the Director of the Sustainable Finance Centre at the World Resources Institute (WRI). To see the contributions: bit.ly/2MKhIqW (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)