Japan sinks to a new low in Bangladesh
COP OUT
At the UN Climate Change Conference’s Conference of the Parties in 2009 (that was COP15, the disappointing one in Copenhagen; as opposed to COP26, which is the disappointing one we’ve just had in Glasgow), rich “Annex 1” countries made an unambiguous commitment to provide $100 billion in climate funding to poor “non-Annex 1” countries to reduce emissions and to help them mitigate the impact of climate change. They repeated the promise in 2010 (COP16) and in 2015 (COP21, the one in Paris that Donald Trump got in such a tizzy about), and yet here we are, another COP is over, and they still haven’t got there.
This is despite the fact that $100 billion isn’t what it used to be: a centi-billion these days is worth just $77.5 billion in 2009 money. When you look at the details of what counts as “climate finance”, the picture gets even worse.
Among other low lights, Japan counted a loan to Bangladesh to build a coal-fired power station as climate finance, even though it was a loan, so it will have to be paid back; and it was to build a coal-fired power station, which is the worst form of power generation for carbon dioxide emissions; and it was in Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable countries to sea level rise on earth.
- “For more than 10 years, (high-income countries) have been promising this climate funding would be provided, and every year they delay and drag their feet,” said Mohamed Adow, director at the Kenya-based think tank Power Shift Africa. “It’s utterly shameful, and the deal announced today is still short despite the U.K. government trying to spin it as ‘mission accomplished’.”
Annex 1 countries have not explained exactly why they haven’t provided the money, but I think we can guess: they can’t afford it; fiscal circumstances; other countries aren’t pulling their weight; it’s France’s fault; we’ll get there in two years’ time; climate change is a Chinese hoax, blah blah blah. The decision by the U.K., which was chairing the COP and thus supposedly using its convening power to twist arms, to cut its annual aid budget by $800 million rather than to increase it in line with its commitments, didn’t exactly set a helpful tone.