UN climate fund struggles without US backing

PARIS: Rich countries gathered in France to discuss replenishing an international fund that is meant to help poor nations tackle climate change, but which is falling short of its targets because the US has stopped contributing.

The two-day meeting in Paris aims to replenish the Green Climate Fund, which has spent much of the US$7bil (RM29.9bil) it received from governments in the past five years.

Governments agreed at a UN climate summit in 2015 to raise US$100bil (RM418.7bil) each year by 2020 to help developing countries reduce their emissions and cope with the inevitable impacts of global warming, such as sea level rise and droughts.

While the South Korea-based Green Climate Fund is only part of that effort, officials had hoped it would collect at least US$10bil (RM41.8bil) in the first round and US$15bil (RM62.8bil) by next year.

US President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold US$2bil (RM8.3bil) of the US$3bil (RM12.5bil) pledged by his predecessor, Barack Obama, has contributed to a shortfall at the Green Climate Fund that other countries have struggled to fill.

Host France, Britain, Germany and several other European countries recently said they’ll double their first contributions to the fund and officials say total pledges so far add up to about US$7.5bil (RM31.4bil). Environmental campaigners have welcomed those pledges and some from countries that aren’t required to pay, but they fear others – such as Australia – might follow the US’s lead and stop donating.

“The Australian government has already indicated that it intends to contribute no more to the Green Climate Fund,” said Jan Kowalzig, a policy adviser at aid group Oxfam Germany.

“We can only hope that they come to their senses,” he added.