Raising the $100 billion needed annually to help developing countries adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change would be "challenging but feasible," according to a group of experts that presented their findings to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday.
The group analyzed options to meet the funding goal announced during UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen last December.
Prime Ministers Jens Stoltenberg of Norway and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, speaking as Co-Chairs of the High-Level Advisory Group, said meeting that goal by 2020 would require a mix of new public sources, a scaling-up of existing public sources and more private flows. Placing a $20 to $25 per ton price on carbon would be a key ingredient for success, they added.
Mr. Zenawi, who joined the press conference by videolink from Addis Ababa, said that while it had been challenging for officials from developed and developing nations to come up with an agreed document, they had successfully accomplished their objective. Financing options had been analysed against a set of comprehensive criteria and chosen in part because of the ease in making use of them.
The report, he said, could be used to craft an ambitious deal or a “weak and miserly” one. Or, it could just be left to languish in the desks of Government bureaucrats. The outcome would depend on the political will of leaders everywhere, especially in advanced countries.
“We’re not asking for handouts from anybody,” Zenawi said. “We’re asking those that created the problem partially make amends for Africa’s loss.”
Mr. Stoltenberg said that without agreement on financing, agreement on other issues would not be achieved. Climate financing involved “burden sharing”, balancing economic responsibilities and creating an atmosphere of trust between developed and developing countries. Placing a price on carbon would have a “double positive” effect by creating incentives to cut emissions, providing a way to mobilize revenue that could be used for adaptation and mitigation measures.
New public instruments could mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars annually, he said. Auctioning emissions allowances, for example, could raise $30 billion annually, while other instruments, like redeployment of fossil fuel subsidies, could mobilize $10 billion per year. While climate-friendly private investments would finance most of the growth, multilateral development banks and the United Nations also could play a significant role.
“There is no silver bullet, no one-size-fits-all solution,” Secretary-General Ban added. The report compiled by his Advisory Group contained options that were financially feasible and politically viable.
The report comes three weeks ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, and is being shared with all Parties with a view to assisting–and speeding–negotiations on financing, among the most difficult areas for agreement.
Taking a question on how to generate the political motivation for climate change financing, the Secretary-General agreed that the goal required “extraordinary” political will. He said he would spare no effort to urge states to agree, but that there is a trust gap blocking the progress of negotiations that needs to be mended through financial support.
Mr. Stoltenberg, asked on how the Advisory Group had decided on its financing options, said proposals were measured against criteria such as political feasibility. The main conclusion underlined the importance of carbon-related measures, as they both reduced emissions and generated revenue which could then be allocated to developing countries. It would be up to Governments to take decisions.
Mr. Zenawi added that the report’s intended targets included civil society and the media. “We need to build political consensus” to ensure political leaders acted responsibly.
Asked about carbon pricing in international transport, Mr. Stoltenberg said the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was working on various schemes, through emissions trading, or placing a tax on each ton of carbon emitted. He said something similar was being examined for aviation. “This is more realistic than people believe,” he said, noting that from 1 January 2013, there would be a system of carbon pricing applied to all aviation traffic. “It is possible.”
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