Op-ed: EU should set a joint and ambitious standard for climate finance

Euractiv has published an op-ed written by Mattias Söderberg, Chief Advisor at DanChurchAid and climate finance spokesperson of ACT Alliance EU and Conor O’Neill, Advocacy & Policy Officer at Christian Aid Ireland.

As COP 26 approaches, the EU needs to adopt a joint and ambitious approach to climate finance to ensure that EU countries stand by their financial commitments under the Paris Agreement.

2020 was due to be the year when the EU and other wealthy states would deliver on a key promise of the Paris Agreement – to support the world’s poorest countries in dealing with climate change, mobilising $100 billion in ‘climate finance’ annually.

This commitment is recognition that developing countries have done the least to cause the climate crisis, but are already bearing the brunt of its impacts and need support. However, new research indicates that this promise is not likely to be fulfilled.

“Setting the Standard” published by ACT Alliance EU, compares how EU Member States and institutions have sought to meet their climate finance commitments in recent years. While we have seen a steady increase in funds allocated to developing countries, it also reveals that the level of ambition differs widely between member states, and that a joint approach is clearly lacking.

Read the full article here

You can find the report here

For the full technical research behind our report click here.