Promises, promises

African nations say only 7 percent of the climate money promised to the developing world by 2013 has been delivered.

Addressing climate talks in Durban, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the 'fast track' money pledged to the developing world at the Copenhagen summit of 2009 had "largely failed to materialize."

"This puts the credibility of the whole process at risk in the eyes of the people of our whole continent," Zenawi said, speaking on behalf of the African Union in his address to the plenary chamber.

Money is a central issue at the Durban conference, which could sign off on a Green Climate Fund that would raise tens of billions of dollars for developing countries to respond to challenges posed by climate change.

'Recycling' promises

African countries also says that less than a quarter of the $30 billion promised to the developing world by 2013 is 'new' money. The rest has been reassigned from standing commitments, like existing aid budgets.

The numbers come out of a study conducted by the African Climate Policy Centre in Addis Ababa, a research institute backed by the African Union and United Nations.

"I can understand African nations' frustration," said Christoph Bals of the environmental organization Germanwatch. "A lot of money promised to them has basically been re-labeled."

"In Germany, money that was pledged at a biodiversity conference has since been assigned to climate. It's easy to feel deceived."

At the Copenhagen climate summit of 2009, rich nations agreed to begin mobilizing "fast start" finance for poorer countries.

The money is supposed to help poorer countries respond to the immediate challenges of climate change until a mechanism can be put in place to begin mobilizing over $100 billion per annum after 2020.

'Our pledges stand'

German Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen rejected suggestions that his country was not putting fresh money on the table.

"We have fulfilled all our pledges to date, and we will continue to do so," he told Deutsche Welle.

According to the German government, Germany has contributed 1.25 billion euros ($1.67 billion) to the short term climate finance initiative over the course of three years. That is in addition to three billion euros for climate projects between 2010 and 2011.

"I think we are transparent on this issue as a matter of course," Röttgen said. "If there were any doubts about this, it would threaten the credibility of the whole process. That cannot be allowed to happen."

Germany seeks climate fund

On Wednesday, Röttgen also announced that Germany would commit another 40 million euros to the proposed Green Climate Fund, which could be agreed in Durban this week.

Röttgen added that Germany would seek to host the fund in Bonn, currently the headquarters of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Bals said it would likely prove difficult in coming years to mobilize more money due to the financial crisis.

"We need innovative mechanisms to leverage money from those responsible for climate change," Bals said.

A range of studies suggest it will cost developing countries hundreds of billions of dollars a year to make the investments needed to adjust to changes for which they bear the least responsibility.

New ideas welcome

In the hunt for new ways of generating money, some are turning their attention to international aviation and shipping.

So far, these sectors have escaped climate regulations, despite the fact that they are among the world's fastest growing sources of carbon emissions.

The European Union has taken tentative steps in this direction and plans to extend its emissions trading scheme to aviation next year.

The United States and China have publicly attacked the move, so have many poorer countries. Something Bals said was "a little inconsistent."

Without flexibility, he said the world wouldn't "get the money on the table that it needs to tackle the problem."

Author: Johannes Beck (nw)
Editor: Nathan Witkop