Report suggests EU is scaling down its climate funding commitments
Tuesday, 15 September 2009 08:53 | 
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Those who believe that a satisfactory deal in Copenhagen is at best unlikely, have gained weight for their argument after the European Commission published a report last week indicating the EU would only be prepared to contribute $2-15 billion annually to financing developing countries in their climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. This represents a substantial reduction to the numbers being mentioned only the week before by the EU, when it had suggested it would be prepared to set aside $13-24 billion each year for such measures.
It has become increasingly clear that the primary stumbling block to an effective agreement in December is the lack of a reasonable climate funding proposal from rich countries to their poorer counterparts, and this latest outcome will only add to such concerns. Indeed Ethiopia gave a stern warning last week, when it said that Africa would boycott any agreement if the funding proposal was inadequate.
The announcement of concrete figures is being seen by some to be a moderate success, after the EU repeatedly put off this move in the past months, but as Greenpeace campaigner Joris den Blanken explained these figures are still ‘too low’. He urged that there was ‘no time for such political games,’ adding ‘We only have three weeks left of active negotiations’.
The reason why the proposed amount is now considerably lower than before, is down to the fact that the EU sees emissions reductions from industry and power as having to come from the developing countries themselves. The argument goes that the vast majority of emissions savings (80-90%) could be made through energy efficiency improvements, and since these savings would ultimately pay for themselves they should be supported by local businesses. However this justification has been disputed, with opponents saying that whilst improvements in energy efficiency would ultimately work in this manner, the measures would still require substantial investment at the outset.
In a bid to lessen the burden on taxpayers in rich countries, the paper also explains that it could use money raised from tax levies on fuel in the shipping and aviation sectors, to supplement climate funding efforts. It has been estimated that this could provide revenue of up to €25 billion a year if emissions were capped at 30% below 2005 levels, and could therefore go a long way towards the EU’s intended targets.
The last round of UN climate negotiations before the Copenhagen summit will take place between 28 September and 9 October in Bangkok, which will follow a UN climate summit in New York a week before. Given that even leaders of developed countries such as UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown believe the world will need to provide around $100 billion per year by 2020, it is clear that the EU is still considerably short of a reasonable offer in the eyes of many, and a lot of work remains to be done in a very limited amount of time.
It has become increasingly clear that the primary stumbling block to an effective agreement in December is the lack of a reasonable climate funding proposal from rich countries to their poorer counterparts, and this latest outcome will only add to such concerns. Indeed Ethiopia gave a stern warning last week, when it said that Africa would boycott any agreement if the funding proposal was inadequate.
The announcement of concrete figures is being seen by some to be a moderate success, after the EU repeatedly put off this move in the past months, but as Greenpeace campaigner Joris den Blanken explained these figures are still ‘too low’. He urged that there was ‘no time for such political games,’ adding ‘We only have three weeks left of active negotiations’.
The reason why the proposed amount is now considerably lower than before, is down to the fact that the EU sees emissions reductions from industry and power as having to come from the developing countries themselves. The argument goes that the vast majority of emissions savings (80-90%) could be made through energy efficiency improvements, and since these savings would ultimately pay for themselves they should be supported by local businesses. However this justification has been disputed, with opponents saying that whilst improvements in energy efficiency would ultimately work in this manner, the measures would still require substantial investment at the outset.
In a bid to lessen the burden on taxpayers in rich countries, the paper also explains that it could use money raised from tax levies on fuel in the shipping and aviation sectors, to supplement climate funding efforts. It has been estimated that this could provide revenue of up to €25 billion a year if emissions were capped at 30% below 2005 levels, and could therefore go a long way towards the EU’s intended targets.
The last round of UN climate negotiations before the Copenhagen summit will take place between 28 September and 9 October in Bangkok, which will follow a UN climate summit in New York a week before. Given that even leaders of developed countries such as UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown believe the world will need to provide around $100 billion per year by 2020, it is clear that the EU is still considerably short of a reasonable offer in the eyes of many, and a lot of work remains to be done in a very limited amount of time.
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