Government leaders last week once again decided to postpone a decision on financing of climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries, at the European Council summit held in Brussels. Instead they endorsed draft conclusions drawn up during UN preparatory climate talks which had recently been agreed in Bonn (for link to article, click here), and agreed with some of the findings of finance Ministers who had met last week, although crucially did not commit to any precise figures.

The summit draft conclusions explained that it agreed with finance Ministers that financial commitments by the EU and the wider industrialised world should make donations on the basis of their ability to pay as well as their historic responsibility for the problem of climate change. They also agreed with plans put forward by the upcoming Swedish Presidency to draw up a work programme for the coming months to ensure proper coordination in the lead up to the Copenhagen COP-15.

However the failure to agree on figures for climate funding has overshadowed the talks again. Several environmental groups, including WWF and Greenpeace, have voiced their dismay over the outcome, with Joris den Blanken, EU climate and energy policy director at Greenpeace saying it ‘leaves the road wide open for less ambitious countries like Japan and the US to water down the deal’.

WWF meanwhile has accused the EU of reneging on its promise to be a leader in the climate change challenge, pointing out that its newest failure now shifts the burden on to developing countries to show how much financial support they deserve to gain.

According to the draft conclusions, the Council will now ask the Commission to table proposals on financing and other issues related to the lead-up to the Copenhagen summit, so that EU leaders can ‘take appropriate decisions on all aspects of financing at its October meeting’.