Rich nations met $135b climate finance goal two years late: OECD

PARIS – Wealthy countries met their target of providing US$100 billion (S$135 billion) in annual climate aid to poorer countries for the first time in 2022, although two years later than promised, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on May 29.

The failure to raise the money on time has eroded trust in climate negotiations, and the OECD report comes as nations race to set a more ambitious goal by November.

In 2009, developed nations promised to raise US$100 billion a year by 2020 to help low-income countries invest in clean energy and cope with the worsening impacts of climate change.

More than a decade later, this target

was finally met for the first time in 2022

with US$115.9 billion raised, the OECD said.

“This achievement occurs two years later than the original 2020 target year,” said the OECD, which tracks official figures on climate finance pledges.

The US$100 billion target is nowhere near what experts say developing nations will need for renewable energy and adaptation measures such as coastal defences against rising seas.

A panel convened by the UN estimates these countries – excluding China – will need US$2.4 trillion a year by 2030 to meet their climate and development needs.

Donors have also been accused of repackaging existing aid pledges as climate finance and making the money largely available as loans instead of unconditional grants.

Climate finance is a thorny issue at the annual UN climate talks, and negotiators have been working in 2024 to try and set a new goal to replace and go beyond the US$100 billion target.

The hosts of the 2024 UN COP29 climate summit in gas-rich Azerbaijan have made the matter a priority and hope to have an ambitious agreement inked during the summit in November. AFP