France stumps up $1bn but world Climate Fund still short

A fund to help developing countries curb their emissions is well short of cash, despite a new pledge of $1 billion (£610m) from France. The Green Climate Fund was dreamed […]

A fund to help developing countries curb their emissions is well short of cash, despite a new pledge of $1 billion (£610m) from France.

The Green Climate Fund was dreamed up in 2010 at the UN’s climate change meet in Cancun, Mexico.

The UN’s senior climate change executive Christiana Figueres was hoping for $10 billion to pour in and kickstart the green lending ahead of this week’s UN Climate Summit in New York.

In August, Germany pledged up to $1 billion for the fund.

Yesterday French President Francois Hollande announced his nation would match that over the next four years, while Korea chipped in $100 million (£61m) though half of this Korean cash was already promised to the fund, reported Reuters.

Katie Sullivan of the International Emissions Trading Association described the new contributions as a “leap in the right direction”.

But others such as campaign group Friends of the Earth are sorely disappointed with the efforts of the entire summit.

A spokesperson complained many of the finance pledges tabled had “no specifics, no timelines, and nothing saying if they are about new and additional climate finance”.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday called climate change “one of the most serious threats” facing the world.

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