As leaders gather at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, it’s crunch time for climate finance – yet again.
After a roundtable bringing together rich nations, small island states, African and other developing countries, UN chief Antonio Guterres said he’d heard “encouraging declarations” about delivering on the elusive $100-billion funding goal for green energy and adaptation.
If not now, then when? as Tracy Chapman sang back in the late 80s (on loop in the background)…
With COP26 little more than five weeks away, showing when the full amount will actually flow is vital to unlock the bigger emissions reductions desperately needed to keep the 1.5 warming goal alive, officials and analysts told us.
In his UNGA speech today, President Joe Biden provided some reassurance, saying he would work with Congress to double promised U.S. climate funding of about $5.7 billion per year by 2024.
That was in line with what green groups had called for, though far below what researchers have said is Washington’s fair share.
While Biden said the U.S. move would make it possible to meet the collective $100-billion goal, he did not give details of how or when.
An aerial view shows a fresco titled “World in Progress II” by Swiss-French artist SAYPE (Guillaume Legros), representing two children drawing and building their ideal world with origami, at the headquarters of the United Nations (U.N.) in New York City, New York, U.S. September 13, 2021. Valentin Flauraud/SAYPE media services/Handout via REUTERS
Meanwhile, cash for nature will be in the spotlight at UNGA on Wednesday, when an alliance of funders is due to announce a big commitment to finance conservation and protected areas to help achieve an expected new global target of protecting 30% of the world’s lands and oceans by 2030.
Our correspondent Michael Taylor reports on the current state of play and a push to raise proposed funding targets in the global biodiversity deal due to be agreed in China next May.
Another finance topic worth watching is whether countries will finally respond to repeated appeals by Guterres to raise their game when it comes to the paltry sums available to help poor countries adapt to accelerating climate change impacts – to at least half of funding on offer to them.
But countries bearing the brunt of surging losses of lives, homes and income from more frequent and damaging severe weather want more than just money.
They are making headway on a push for a new United Nations’ special envoy on climate change and human rights, as leaders call for stepped-up measures to deal with the “biggest threat to human rights this century”.
The potential new post is expected to be deliberated at the ongoing Sept. 13-Oct. 8 session of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
A child cleans a mud-covered road after heavy rainfalls in the municipality of Ecatepec, that left two persons missing and damaged cars and infrastructure, on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
So what do we do with all the excess carbon floating around in the air and heating up the planet?
Our correspondents this week reported on some cutting-edge technologies that could help solve at least a bit of the problem.
They include a process, known as gas fermentation, which uses carbon captured from the air, industrial smokestacks, municipal waste or other sources to create “green chemicals” that can be turned into plastics, soaps, fabrics, perfumes and more.
And three top “direct air capture” firms told Alister Doyle they are increasingly hopeful governments can provide incentives to develop the fledgling industry that sucks carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, modelled on subsidies for solar power or electric cars.