PRESS RELEASE

Today, as ministers attending the UN climate talks in Marrakech, COP22, meet to discuss climate finance, ACT Alliance is calling for more funds and support towards urgent climate action in developing countries.

Acknowledging the road map on climate finance that developed countries recently presented on how they want to deliver on their commitment to mobilise USD 100 bn per year from 2020, ACT Alliance raised critical concerns.

Dinesh Vyas, co-chair of the ACT alliance delegation at COP22, said: “On the ground where our members are active, we see an increasing need for climate action. Farmers need to prepare for long lasting droughts, fishermen along vulnerable coastlines need to reconstruct their livelihoods as they face flooding. The need for adaptation is growing. We know how to deal with it, but there is need for financial support to make it happen.”

“While we appreciate developed countries for the roadmap,” he continued, “we must also make clear that this roadmap is a political position, and not an agreed plan. There is no global agreement about how to account for climate finance, or what kind of resources we should accept. This is one of the most important points on the agenda of the UN climate talks, and these negotiations must continue now with a concrete input from developed countries.”

The alliance also urged countries to respect existing agreements about climate finance, such as ensuring a balance between mitigation and adaptation.

Martin Vogel, policy advisor for Church of Sweden and member of the ACT Alliance delegation at COP22, said: “We are sad to see that only 20 percent of climate finance in 2020 is expected to be allocated to adaptation. This is not good enough, and developed countries must take concrete action to scale up their support to developing countries wanting to adapt to the effects of climate change.”

Commenting on the emergence of climate finance due to global warming as an additional challenge in the provision of development aid to vulnerable nations, Vogel said: “Climate finance should be additional to existing commitments by developed countries to provide development aid to poor nations. This is not a principle developed countries have respected in their roadmap. A big part of the funds included in the roadmap are also reported as development aid, meaning that they are counted twice.”

ENDS