New Delhi, Rich countries falsely claimed to provide nearly $116 billion in climate finance to developing countries in 2022, while actual financial support provided did not exceed $35 billion, according to the global non-profit organization. profit Oxfam International.
At the 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen, wealthy nations pledged to provide $100 billion annually starting in 2020 to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, delays in achieving this goal have eroded trust between developed and developing countries and have been a continuing source of discord during the annual climate negotiations.
In May, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that developed countries had fulfilled the long-standing promise of $100 billion a year by providing almost $116 billion in climate finance to developing countries. development in 2022. However, almost 70 percent of this money was in the form of loans, many of which were provided at profitable market rates, increasing the debt burden of already heavily indebted countries.
"Rich countries have again defrauded low- and middle-income countries of up to $88 billion in 2022," Oxfam said.
Oxfam estimated that the "true value" of climate finance provided by rich countries in 2022 is just $28 billion and no more than $35 billion, with a maximum of just $15 billion going to adaptation, which is crucial to help combat climate change. Vulnerable countries are addressing the growing impacts of the climate crisis. This discrepancy between financial promises and reality continues to undermine the trust needed between countries and is materially vital, as climate action in many countries depends on this climate finance, he claimed.
Chiara Liguori, senior climate justice policy adviser at Oxfam GB, said: “Rich countries have been shortchanging lower-income countries for years by providing cheap climate finance. Claims that they are now delivering on their financial promises are exaggerated, as the actual financial effort is much less than the reported figure seems to suggest."
Oxfam's figures reflected climate-related loans as grant equivalents, rather than their nominal value, to measure the real financial effort of rich countries. The organization also took into account the difference between market-rate loans and those on preferential conditions, also taking into account the overly generous claims about the importance of these funds for the climate.
“Low- and middle-income countries should instead get most of the money in grants, which should also be better spent on genuine climate initiatives that help them adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis and move away from polluting fossil fuels. "Liguori said.
“At this moment they are being sanctioned twice. First, for the climate damage they caused little, and then for the interest payments on the loans they have to take out to cope with it.”Oxfam said its estimates are based on original research by INKA Consult and Steve Cutts using the latest sets of data. OECD climate-related development finance data for 2021 and 2022. Figures are rounded to the nearest 500 million.
According to new data from the OECD, rich countries said they mobilized $115.9 billion in climate finance for countries in the Global South in 2022. Nearly $92 billion of the reported amount was provided as public financing, and 69.4 percent of public funding was provided in the form of loans. in 2022, up from 67.7 percent in 2021.
According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), it is estimated that the funds needed for adaptation in developing countries will range between $215 billion and $387 billion a year during this decade. Climate finance will be at the center of the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the world will reach the deadline to agree on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) – the new amount that developed nations must mobilize each year from 2025 to support the weather. action in developing countries.
However, reaching a consensus on the NCQG will not be easy.
Some rich nations argue that countries with high emissions and greater economic capabilities, such as China and petrostates that classify themselves as developing countries under the Paris Agreement, should also contribute to climate finance. Developing countries, however , they cite Article 9 of the Paris Agreement, which states that climate finance must flow from developed countries to developing countries.
Developed countries want the funds to prioritize nations most vulnerable to climate impacts, such as least developed countries and small island developing states. Developing countries say that everyone deserves support.
Developing nations are also demanding clarity on what constitutes climate finance, insisting that development finance should not be counted as climate finance and that funds should not be provided in the form of loans, as has been the case in the past.
At the 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen, wealthy nations pledged to provide $100 billion annually starting in 2020 to help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, delays in achieving this goal have eroded trust between developed and developing countries and have been a continuing source of discord during the annual climate negotiations.
In May, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that developed countries had fulfilled the long-standing promise of $100 billion a year by providing almost $116 billion in climate finance to developing countries. development in 2022. However, almost 70 percent of this money was in the form of loans, many of which were provided at profitable market rates, increasing the debt burden of already heavily indebted countries.
"Rich countries have again defrauded low- and middle-income countries of up to $88 billion in 2022," Oxfam said.
Oxfam estimated that the "true value" of climate finance provided by rich countries in 2022 is just $28 billion and no more than $35 billion, with a maximum of just $15 billion going to adaptation, which is crucial to help combat climate change. Vulnerable countries are addressing the growing impacts of the climate crisis. This discrepancy between financial promises and reality continues to undermine the trust needed between countries and is materially vital, as climate action in many countries depends on this climate finance, he claimed.
Chiara Liguori, senior climate justice policy adviser at Oxfam GB, said: “Rich countries have been shortchanging lower-income countries for years by providing cheap climate finance. Claims that they are now delivering on their financial promises are exaggerated, as the actual financial effort is much less than the reported figure seems to suggest."
Oxfam's figures reflected climate-related loans as grant equivalents, rather than their nominal value, to measure the real financial effort of rich countries. The organization also took into account the difference between market-rate loans and those on preferential conditions, also taking into account the overly generous claims about the importance of these funds for the climate.
“Low- and middle-income countries should instead get most of the money in grants, which should also be better spent on genuine climate initiatives that help them adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis and move away from polluting fossil fuels. "Liguori said.
“At this moment they are being sanctioned twice. First, for the climate damage they caused little, and then for the interest payments on the loans they have to take out to cope with it.”Oxfam said its estimates are based on original research by INKA Consult and Steve Cutts using the latest sets of data. OECD climate-related development finance data for 2021 and 2022. Figures are rounded to the nearest 500 million.
According to new data from the OECD, rich countries said they mobilized $115.9 billion in climate finance for countries in the Global South in 2022. Nearly $92 billion of the reported amount was provided as public financing, and 69.4 percent of public funding was provided in the form of loans. in 2022, up from 67.7 percent in 2021.
According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), it is estimated that the funds needed for adaptation in developing countries will range between $215 billion and $387 billion a year during this decade. Climate finance will be at the center of the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the world will reach the deadline to agree on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) – the new amount that developed nations must mobilize each year from 2025 to support the weather. action in developing countries.
However, reaching a consensus on the NCQG will not be easy.
Some rich nations argue that countries with high emissions and greater economic capabilities, such as China and petrostates that classify themselves as developing countries under the Paris Agreement, should also contribute to climate finance. Developing countries, however , they cite Article 9 of the Paris Agreement, which states that climate finance must flow from developed countries to developing countries.
Developed countries want the funds to prioritize nations most vulnerable to climate impacts, such as least developed countries and small island developing states. Developing countries say that everyone deserves support.
Developing nations are also demanding clarity on what constitutes climate finance, insisting that development finance should not be counted as climate finance and that funds should not be provided in the form of loans, as has been the case in the past.