The European Commission will mobilise €100 million for the Kyoto Protocol’s ‘Adaptation Fund’, announced European Commission Vice President for the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, on Tuesday 9 November, during a speech at the 26th session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.
This new contribution from the EU budget “underscores our determination to scale up finance to support climate adaptation objectives, and to strike a better balance between mitigation and adaptation”, the Commission said in a statement issued the same day.
Created at COP7 in Marrakech in 2001 and made operational in 2007 at COP13 in Bali, the ‘Adaptation Fund’ aims to finance projects and programmes for adaptation and resilience to climate change in developing countries.
It has mobilised nearly $868 million since 2010 for 126 concrete, localised projects in the most vulnerable communities in developing countries around the world, with 31.5 million beneficiaries in total.
At COP26, the Fund has already raised a record US$232.6 million in new pledges—almost double the previous record set 3 years ago at COP24 (US$129 million)—plus the Commission’s contribution.
EU calls for action
In his speech, Mr Timmermans also called for action, including adaptation to climate change, and for cooperation as “the world is still too far from our 1.5° target [enshrined in the Paris Agreement]”.
“Financing adaptation is critical. [...] We all need to get cracking, and we all need to do it now”, he said.
He added, “To the Parties stopping and stalling progress, I say: What are you waiting for?” (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)