On Tuesday, French President François Hollande and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met in Paris and agreed on the need for clarity as soon as possible on how developed countries will ensure a flow of at least $100 billion per year by 2020 towards funding developing nations' climate actions.

The two leaders discussed issues around this year's UN climate change conference (COP 21) in the French capital, where governments are set to deliver a new, universal climate change agreement in December. The official UN read-out of their meeting said that this included what next steps should to be taken to ensure an ambitious outcome at the Paris climate change conference. In this regard, they noted the importance of and different ways of engaging Heads of State and Governments on climate change, including on the margins of the 70th session of the General Assembly in New York in September.

They agreed on the particular importance of generating early signals about the climate finance package for COP 21, such as at the meeting of Finance Ministers in Lima in October. They also agreed on the importance of operationalizing the Green Climate Fund. In a speech to ambassadors gathering in Paris, earlier that day, President Hollande underlined the need for and enhancement of the climate finance international efforts. He said:

If we are to succeed in Paris it will undoubtedly require political commitments, an agreement, and it will require financing. And that is what we have to focus all our solutions and energies towards. The $100 billion by 2020 was a promise that has not yet been kept but it is now a requirement. It is absolutely necessary to get an agreement.

Photo credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider