The United Nations Green Climate Fund reached around $9.3 billion in pledges for its second replenishment round to help vulnerable countries cope with climate change, the fund’s facilitator said on Thursday.
The UN’s Green Climate Fund is seeking contributions to fund projects in climate-vulnerable counties over 2024-2027, aiming to exceed the $10 billion it raised in its last three-year round.
The amount did not include the United States, which is still working on its announcement but its representative said it was not in a position to pledge at a conference in Bonn on Thursday due to ongoing uncertainty in its budget process, according to Reuters.
The amount represents just a fraction of the $200 billion - $250 billion that developing countries will need every year by 2030 to adapt to climate change, according to an estimate given Wednesday in a UN Framework Convention on Climate Change report that showed how the costs of preparing for climate impacts and the damages from extreme weather events continue to mount.
A climate funding conference in Bonn, Germany, on Thursday saw a handful of countries add cash to the Green Climate Fund – the UN’s main funding arm for dispersing climate finance.
Among those donating were Japan, which said it would contribute up to 165 billion yen ($1.11 billion) over 2024-2027, and Norway, which offered around $300 million.
There were no new funding pledges made from the world’s top two polluters, the United States and China.
A US representative said the country was not in a position to pledge due to uncertainty in its domestic budget process, but was “working on” an announcement. China, meanwhile, has yet to agree to join wealthy countries in providing climate finance through the UN system.
Australia, Italy, and Sweden said they also were also working on contributions, but did not make pledges on Thursday. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is aiming to exceed the $10 billion in contributions it raised in its last three-year round.
