Canada Announces Climate Change Financing
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Canada has announced $18.5 million per year for the next four years in
funding to help developing countries cope with climate change. The
Environment Minister Jim Prentice made the announcement at the end of
May, calling it “Canada’s first installment on our climate change
fast-start funding as part of our commitment under the Copenhagen
Accord.”
At the United Nations climate change conference in
Copenhagen last December developed countries agreed to a $30 billion
total ‘Fast Start’ funding mechanism for the period 2010-2012 for
developing countries to fight climate change. They also committed to a
goal of $100 billion a year by 2020 for developing countries.
This
is the first specific commitment Canada has made to the $30 billion
Fast Start fund.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank, along with other
Canadian development organizations, has been calling on the Canadian
government to commit to its fair share of climate financing, suggesting
that 3-4% of the global total ($300-$400 million) would be fair.
“We’re
pleased that Canada has taken this first step towards honouring the
financing commitment Canada made in Copenhagen,” says Carol Thiessen,
public policy advisor for the Foodgrains Bank. ”But there’s still a long
way to go. Those who are most vulnerable to climate change, including
the smallholder farmers we work with, are already experiencing the
negative impacts of climate change. We urge the Canadian government to
move quickly to fulfill its full fair share of financing.”
The
Foodgrains Bank is pleased that Canada has made this funding additional
to contributions it regularly makes to the Global Environmental Facility
(GEF). The GEF is the largest environmental multilateral fund in the
world. It provides grants to developing countries to address
environmental issues, including climate change.
However, it is
unlikely that this money will count as additional to Canada’s official
development assistance. It is also unclear which of the GEF’s climate
change funds this money will support, and how focussed it will be on
those most vulnerable to climate change.
The Foodgrains Bank has
advocated for funding that is additional to existing development
assistance, so that other vital concerns, such as health and education,
aren’t neglected. It has called for grants not loans, and for a focus on
those most vulnerable to climate change, including small-scale farmers.
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