Climate finance: How fair are contributions?

“These metrics are not perfect, but they do provide an indication of how to hold individual governments to account,” the authors say. Many elements of the $100 billion a year Copenhagen target are far from clearly defined. This begins with the definition of the so-called “developed countries” and “developing countries”, the division between private and public finance, extends to the lack of clarity regarding alternative sources of finance and what financial instruments are acceptable in all, and does not end with how an appropriate balance between protecting Climate and adaptation finance (see also: IFPRI Cost Accounting on Climate Impacts).

In addition, depending on the world, organization or country, there are very different opinions about what exactly will contribute to the achievement of the goal. In this regard, there are also many different assessments of progress on the way towards the $100 billion goal. However, most agree that it did not materialize in 2020 and will not materialize in 2021.

Indicators reflect historical responsibility

The three indicators used by ODI to measure a “fair” percentage of 23 countries are of course not chosen arbitrarily. Cumulative CO2 emissions from 1990 to 2019 reflect historical responsibility for climate change; Because of the close correlation between greenhouse gas emissions and economic strength, it can be assumed that most high emitting countries also have financial resources.

The Gross National Income Index (2020 figures) reflects the economic opportunities for mobilizing financial resources. However, it does not allow any statement to be made about the differences in income levels within the group of “developed” countries, which puts countries with high population density and low per capita income at a disadvantage. He makes no statements about the carbon intensity of the respective economies, which in turn is detrimental to countries with relatively clean energy supplies.