Climate summit debates transparency of climate mitigation and adaptation funds
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COMMENTS 
An EU Commission document on how much developing countries have received from government or multilateral agencies to fight climate change revealed that India has only three ongoing projects, worth Euro 8.6 million and all funded by Germany
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Despatches from Cancun, November 30, 2010: NGOs at this UN summit on climate change, ongoing in Mexico, are concerned that there is a lack of transparency regarding the ‘Green Fund’ that is being set up to finance the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
As ‘fast start’ funding, the Copenhagen accord in November 2009 which some 130 countries have now taken note of -- as distinct from ratified – calls for $10 billion a year till 2012. It will then ratchet up to $100 billion by 2020, although as of now, there is no penalty in place for defaulting governments.
The Asia Pacific Climate Change Finance and Aid Effectiveness Dialogue, which was held in Bangkok last month, points out how there are many different sources of climate funding. Each of these funds has its own criteria for disbursement. Some are sector-specific, such as REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation & Forest Degradation), the Forest Investment Programme and the International Forest Carbon Initiative.
By contrast the post-Copenhagen Adaptation Fund is significantly different in its governance, administration and operation. Unlike other global funds, its board has a majority from developing countries and the fund is set up to allow countries “direct access” to finance for adapting to climate change. Industrial countries have been disbursing more money for mitigating climate change, which affects them as well, than for adaptation.
The EU Commission today released a document which details how each developing country has been getting funds from governments or multilateral institutions like the World Bank to fight climate change this year.
India has only three projects, with a total of Euro 8.6 million, all funded by Germany. One, for Euro 2 million, is to promote low-carbon sustainable transport schemes in the country through alternative modes and technological improvements with the UN Environment Programme. An integrated assessment of the transport sector in four cities has been carried out and linked to the national and city level.
The second, worth Euro 1.6 million, aims at mapping potential for solar power production, through the German technical aid agency, GTZ. India has launched an ambitious 20,000 MW Solar Mission, to be reached by 2017.
The last project, worth Euro 5 million, “deepens” Indo-German research in innovative clean energy, through the German government-owned bank, KfW. Critics today asked EU Commission spokespersons how banks, including the World Bank, were being considered as conduits of such aid, especially given the financial crisis which grips Europe and has hit KfW too.
KfW has already funded a programme to change the efficiency of chiller equipment in India with new machines, which will lower the consumption of chlorofluorocarbons, through the Industrial Development Bank of India. This has already saved 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, which can entitle the project to carbon credits between 2011 and 2018.
This is in consonance with India’s attempt to increase its energy efficiency by 17% by 2017, which it is holding up before industrial countries as evidence that it is being proactive in reducing carbon emissions even while the US, Japan, Australia, Canada and others have not yet committed to doing so.
Infochange News & Features, December 2010