Fight against climate change | The private sector called upon to take out the checkbook

Achieving the goal of raising 100 billion dollars (US) per year to fight climate change requires a greater contribution from the private sector on a global scale, plead Canada and Germany.

Jean-Thomas Léveillé
The Press

This is one of the “challenges” that remain to be overcome, said Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault on Friday. He presented a progress report on the subject together with the Secretary of State and German Special Envoy for International Climate Action, Jennifer Morgan, and the President of the 26^e United Nations Climate Conference (COP26), held last year in Scotland, Alok Sharma.

“Clearly, we need to do more,” Mr. Sharma added. He had mandated Ottawa and Berlin in the wake of COP26 to accelerate the fundraising campaign, which had missed its deadline.

It was initially in 2020 that the objective – taken in 2009 by the developed countries – of raising 100 billion dollars to help developing countries to slow down climate change and adapt to it was to be achieved.

The 2015 Paris Climate Accord reinforced the goal, for the money to be raised each year until 2025 — but it’s not until 2023 that the goal will be reached, Canada and the EU predict. Germany.

In 2020, the sums raised had totaled $83.3 billion, which was still a huge step forward, said Minister Guilbeault.

“Important” progress

“Significant” progress has been made in the last year, indicates the progress report, which mentions in particular a commitment from Japan of 10 billion dollars over five years, or the creation by Italy of a fund of 3 .4 billion euros over four years.

“There is nothing to rest on our laurels, but there is progress and that is what is important,” said Secretary of State Morgan, who was until the beginning of the year Director General of Greenpeace International.

The doubling of the contributions to which various countries have committed within the framework of the Glasgow Pact, concluded at COP26, will also ensure that the objective of 100 billion dollars will be exceeded “over an average of five years”, notes Minister Guilbeault. .

It will take more

The international community recognizes, however, that $100 billion a year will not be enough to tackle the climate crisis, the effects of which are being felt more and more each year, while the global temperature will continue to rise by the end of the century. .

How can we hope to raise more, when the 2020 objective has still not been reached?

By “unlocking” private and multilateral funding, precisely, says Minister Guilbeault.

The private sector is “reluctant” to be the first to take financial risks and it was normal for states to be the first to contribute, but it must now do more, say Canada and Germany.

“We will need trillions of dollars from the private sector” in the coming years, added Alok Sharma.

Discussions on climate finance beyond 2025 will also be at the heart of the 27^e United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), which will be held from November 7 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.