Credit: Flickr/Consumersenergy
The Paris Agreement recognizes that developed countries should continue to take the lead in mobilizing finance to support climate action by developing countries. The Katowice climate package provides some important details on climate finance going forward.
1. Confirmation of climate finance mobilization
Developed countries have pledged to mobilize USD 100 billion per year by 2020, and through to 2025, for both adaptation and mitigation actions in developing countries. At COP24, a small handful of developed countries stepped up with pledges towards this goal.
Many developing countries need support to contribute climate actions towards the global effort. Moreover, reaching the USD 100 billion goal is also essential for confidence-building among countries and a greater effort towards it is essential.
2. Importance of the roles of the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility in supporting developing countries.
Katowice stressed the urgency for pledges to replenish the Green Climate Fund in 2019, as well the role of the Global Environment Facility. This is particularly important in relation to the Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency.
Climate finance that serves the Paris Agreement post-2020
3. Arrangements for providing predictability and clarity on climate finance
Credit: Unsplash/impatrickt
To enhance predictability and clarity of climate finance, developed countries will submit biennial communications on expected levels of climate finance. These will contain both quantitative and qualitative information.
The submission of these communications will begin in 2020. Other Parties that wish to provide resources can communicate such information biennially and on a voluntary basis.
The secretariat will post these communications on a dedicated on-line portal.
Starting in 2021, the secretariat will prepare a compilation and synthesis report on what has been communicated, which will inform the Global Stocktake.
A high-level ministerial dialogue on climate finance will be convened every two years.
Like the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Fund, Adaptation Fund will support developing countries and serve the Paris Agreement.
5. Financial goal beyond 2025
The setting of a new collective quantified goal from the floor of USD 100 billion per year will be initiated at the COP in 2020.
6. Determining needs
The COP decided that the Standing Committee on Finance will from 2020 report on the determination of support needs of developing countries related to the implementation of the Convention and the Paris Agreement
7. Making mainstream finance flows consistent with the Paris Agreement.
To ensure that low-emissions and sustainable development pathways become the new norm, financial flows have to be consistent with low emissions and climate resilient development.
As a result, the COP decided that the Standing Committee include this important aspect as part of its biennial assessment and overview of climate finance flows starting from 2020. This work will feed to Global Stocktake.