Rich nations are on track to meet their $100 billion pledge this year to finance the fight against climate changethree years later than promised, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock declared on Tuesday.
He said donor countries met Monday to discuss progress in fulfilling their pledge, made in 2009, to transfer $100 billion a year by 2020 to vulnerable countries affected by the worsening effects of the climate change.
“The good news is that it seems that we are on the right track to finally reach the sum of 100,000 million dollars this year,” he told a meeting of more than 40 country representatives to discuss efforts to tackle climate change in Berlin. .
The 100,000 million dollars are far below the real needs of the Poor countries, but they have become a symbol of the failure of rich countries to deliver promised climate funds. Its non-compliance has fueled mistrust in climate negotiations between countries to try to promote measures of reduction of CO2 emissions.
The United Arab Emirates’ president-designate for this year’s UN climate talks has said funding delays are holding back progress in the fight against climate change.
“Expectations are high. Confidence is low,” Sultan al-Jaber said, adding that the real value of the $100 billion had eroded since the pledge was first made in 2009.
Developing economies say they cannot afford to cut CO2 emissions without greater support from rich nations, responsible for most of the greenhouse gases that warm the planet.
Rich countries contributed $83.3 billion in 2020, $16.7 billion less than expected, according to the latest available OECD data. The OECD and rich countries had previously indicated that the target could be met this year.
