New Guide released today shines light on COP 15’s central dilemma:
Where’s the money coming from and where’s it going?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 9, 2009
The scale of financing needed to tackle climate change is far greater than the current level of commitment from developed countries. There is no more pressing issue at the UNFCCC meeting in Copenhagen, and The Little Climate Finance Book, released today, is a guide to the multitude of proposals for addressing it. The different proposals are presented using clear non-technical language, and a visual framework that allows the options to be understood and compared at a glance.
“Climate finance understanding is a must. However, the proliferation of vocabulary in this field has blocked many people’s access to the simplicity of these systems. The Little Climate Finance Book is a helpful guide through this jungle of words and abbreviations, as well as a welcome tool for the insider”, stated the Director General of Norway’s Ministry of Finance, Leif Ervik.
If we are to avoid the dangerous impacts of climate change we must limit global mean temperature increase to 2°C above preindustrial levels. A key component to the global deal on climate change will be that developed countries provide large-scale finance to allow developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Climate finance experts estimate that between USD 90 - 210 billion is needed per year by 2020 of which USD 80 - 140 billion will be for mitigation and USD 10 - 70 for adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
The Little Climate Finance Book is a companion piece to the Global Canopy Programme’s Little REDD+ Book, which was initially released at COP 14 in Poznan, in December 2008, and which has become a ubiquitous reference to the negotiations and a tool for understanding REDD+ in developing countries. The new book also highlights relevant issues for financing forests and how REDD+ will play a crucial role in developing countries’ efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
“The aim of the Little Climate Finance Book is to help key stakeholders including governments, NGOs, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities to compare existing and future proposals for climate finance in a consistent way.” Said Charlie Parker, lead author and head of policy at The Global Canopy Programme. “As a non-partisan analysis, the Little Climate Finance Book does not favour one proposal over another. We do hope, however, that our work will aid understanding and encourage dialogue at the critical negotiations here in Copenhagen where answers to these pressing questions must be now found.”
Notes to Editors
The Little Climate Finance Book has been developed by the Global Canopy Programme in collaboration with key experts from the Overseas Development Institute, the Australian National University and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. The book has been printed in English and translations into French, Spanish and Portuguese are available on a CD and online at www.littleclimatefinancebook.org. The Little Climate Finance Book and the Little REDD+ Book are being distributed at the Little REDD Desk at COP 15 in Copnhagen.
The Little Climate Finance Book is presented in three sections corresponding to the three key areas of international climate negotiations: revenue generation, the options for delivery of finance and the proposals for institutional arrangements. The book also compares the different options and draws conclusions across these different areas.
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