Cop: Climate finance pledges soar in first few days

Countries and institutions have made climate and environment-related finance commitments totalling around $57bn so far at the UN Cop 28 climate summit, the meeting's presidency said today.

The total includes a $30bn climate fund launched by Cop 28 host the UAE and changes to the World Bank's approach that will free up $9bn.

Several countries topped up the UN Green Climate Fund (GCF) — including the US, with $3bn. Italy committed €300mn ($326mn) to the GCF and Switzerland gave 135mn Swiss francs ($155mn). Portugal and Estonia gave €4mn and €1mn to the GCF, respectively. The GCF finances projects in developing and emerging countries with a focus on mitigation, adaptation and resilience efforts, such as climate-friendly agricultural methods, reforestation or coastal protection.

Countries have continued to capitalise the loss and damage fund agreed as Cop opened. Loss and damage refers to the unavoidable and irreversible effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels. Pledges for the fund, including several for "funding arrangements", now stand at around $727mn.

Agreement on the fund's setup was reached on the summit's first day and contributions were welcomed by civil society organisations. But some expressed concern about whether the money is additional, as developing countries had called for, while others called for billions of dollars to be mobilised. Contributions to the fund are voluntary.

"The absence of a defined replenishment cycles raises serious questions about the fund's long-term sustainability", said Climate Action Network head of global political strategy Harjeet Singh.

Support for climate resilient debt clauses (CRDCs) have gained ground at Cop 28. These allow countries to pause debt repayments in cases of natural disasters or climate-related catastrophes, so funds can be directed towards emergency response measures. The UK today expanded its existing programme to cover Senegal and Guyana. Canada said in October that it will offer CRDCs, and the World Bank increased its CRDC programme at the weekend.

The UK on 2 December also announced £100mn in adaptation finance, to help climate-vulnerable populations adjust to the effects of climate change where possible. Developed countries committed in 2021 to double adaptation finance by 2025, which would take it to around $40bn/yr. The UN environment programme found the gap between estimated adaptation financing needs and flows could be as much as $366bn/yr. Initiatives to address methane have gathered $1.2bn at Cop 28.

Climate finance was set to be a key theme at Cop 28. Recent rounds of climate talks have stalled, as developing countries call on developed nations to provide meaningful finance to tackle the issues. Early progress at the conference may go some way to restoring trust — lacking in June at UN talks in Bonn — and open up space for further discussions on emissions reductions.

By Georgia Gratton