Oxfam reacts to UNFCCC climate finance estimates

Published: 4th December 2014

In response to the UNFCCC report on climate finance saying that between $340 and $650 billion in finance for climate action is flowing globally with $40-175 billion going to developing countries each year Jan Kowalzig, policy advisor for Oxfam said: 

“The UNFCCC report on climate finance makes one thing abundantly clear only a small proportion of climate finance is flowing from developed countries to developing countries. The truth is nobody knows exactly how much climate finance is flowing, and what percentage is going to poor countries because the global rules regulating what counts as finance are non-existent.

"What we do know is that current flows of finance are inadequate to keep warming below 2°C and negotiators here in Lima need to put a roadmap in place for how developed countries will meet their $100 billion promise by 2020. The fact that Japan has counted funding for a coal fired power plant as climate finance shows that developed countries are still far off track. 
 
“Numerous developing countries have underfunded or unfunded plans to help the most vulnerable adapt to the changing climate and to boost their economies through low-carbon growth. This week Oxfam released a report showing that if progress is made on climate finance, the clean development that poor countries can achieve could be spectacular. Ethiopia could lift millions of people out of poverty while avoiding annual carbon emissions to the equivalent of 65 coal-fired plants. Peru could increase its GDP by nearly 1% more than business as usual while halving its emissions at the same time. Indonesia could fulfill its plan to cut emissions by 41 percent in 15 years.

"It is up to negotiators in Lima and next year in Paris to seal a deal that will enable more finance to start flowing and make these plans a reality.” 
 

Contact information

Contact Ben Grossman-Cohen at bgrossman-cohen@oxfamamerica.org, Peru Mobile +51 949 728 813 or US Mobile (202) 629 

For updates, please follow @Oxfam.

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