As the earth is moving towards climate hell, the Loss & Damage Fund - a financial mechanism established to assist developing countries facing the negative impacts of climate change was agreed upon. At COP 28, the decision on the operationalization of the new funding arrangements, including a Fund, for responding to loss and damage was adopted. Since the adoption of the decision, as of December 2023, an amount of around $700 million was pledged by several countries. In conversation with Business Today, Mozaharul Alam, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Coordinator for Climate Action in Asia and the Pacific, talks about the current status of the climate finance efforts, progress on the Fund and India's call for developed countries to provide at least $1 trillion per year in climate finance from 2025. Edited Excerpts.
BT: Can you provide an overview of the current status of global climate finance efforts? Financial commitments to support developing nations in their climate action were made by developed countries in the past as well? What has been the progress on that?
MA: The Governments of Canada and Germany released a Climate Finance Delivery Plan Progress Report in 2022 at the request of the COP26 Presidency. The report identifies areas where more focused work on climate finance is required and provides recommendations for collective actions moving forward. The Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, commissioned by the COP27 and COP28 Presidencies and the United Nations High-Level Climate Champions for COP27 and COP28, published a summary of its second report in November of 2023, which focuses on the acceleration and implementation of climate finance.
With respect to financing for climate change adaptation efforts, UNEP’s 2023 Adaptation Gap Report found that the adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10-18 times as great as international public finance flows. The report also found that the current adaptation finance gap is estimated to be $194-366 billion per year. At COP28, discussions continued on setting a “new collective quantified goal on climate finance” in 2024. According to UNFCCC, the new goal “will be a building block for the design and subsequent implementation of national climate plans that need to be delivered by 2025.”
BT: At COP 28, the decision on the operationalization of the new funding arrangements, including a Fund, for responding to loss and damage, was adopted. Have there been any further developments on that?
MA: At COP28, in addition to the adoption of a decision on loss and damage funding arrangements and the operationalization of the fund, countries pledged several hundred million USD to the Loss and Damage Fund. Parties to the Paris Agreement have nominated members of the Fund Board and the first meeting of the Board is scheduled take place from 30 April to 2 May 2024 at the Abu Dhabi Energy Centre, United Arab Emirates. While the agenda of the meeting is not yet available, the first meeting will likely focus on logistical and operational aspects of the Fund, including determining the host of the fund board.
BT: How does the UN view India's call for developed countries to provide at least $1 trillion per year in climate finance from 2025? Can you provide insights into the rationale behind India's call for climate finance?
MA: UNEP does not comment on individual Member State submissions to the UNFCCC. We refer you to the Government of India regarding any rationale related to their submissions to the UNFCCC.
BT: How does the UN foresee the evolution of climate finance mechanisms in the coming years?
MA: The negotiating parties to the UNFCCC are responsible for designing the new collective quantified goal for climate finance. It is critical that financial systems in all regions enable climate-smart solutions, as public finance will not be sufficient on its own to deliver the needed support for climate action globally.