Developing nations undecided over ‘Green Climate Fund’

Developing nations were at the weekend undecided over the composition of the ‘Green Climate Fund,’ a project meant to give up to US$100billion about N15.87trillion yearly to developing nations by 2020 for combating climate change.

NaijaAgroNet recalls that Green Climate Fund was agreed upon by developed nations at the Conference of Parties (COP-16) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in December last year at Cancun, Mexico.

Though an agreement was reached at the COP-16 by negotiators from 194 countries to create the trust fund but poor nations from Africa and Asia said that there will be a limitation to the use of the fund as a result of the control of the donor countries.

The latest disclosure was the outcome of the meeting of an international committee charged with the responsibility of designing the fund in time for governments' approval at the upcoming UN's climate change conference in November, this year.

NaijaAgroNet also gathered that poor African and Asian nations alleged vulnerability to climate change numbering up to 48 represented by Bangladesh and Zambia called for a radical new approach to the trust fund.

In their argument, the national climate change trust fund in developing countries should be able to access the Green Climate Fund directly without having to go through a third party such as the World Bank.

This, they say entails long delays and excessive paperwork, which will in turn limit their ability to make good use of the money.

Saleemul Huq, a Senior Fellow, Climate Change Group of International Institute for Environment and Development backed the argument that direct access will empower the recipients of support to take their destiny into their own hands, without the necessity to have their plans and projects approved by an external body. Read more.

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