Please find below the
summary of the conference which took place at Convergences World Forum and was coordinated by
Anne-Cécile Bras, journalist at RFI.
The speakers were :
The challenges of climate finance
Climate finance aims to reduce the scale of future climate change. It focuses on investments that have benefits in terms of adaptation, mitigation and sequestration."
Investment needs in terms of greenhouse gas reduction are estimated at some USD 1,500bn a year and at approximately USD 500bn for adaptation" in all sectors: energy, infrastructure, equipment and services (Pierre Forestier).
Despite a general increase in awareness, the needs are still far from being met, especially because it is sometimes difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of climate investments: "
When investments are made in the context of climate finance, we are faced with a more qualitative than quantitative dimension" (Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu). Consequently, there is a twofold challenge: develop climate finance and strike a balance between the four financing flows - international public financing, international private financing, national public financing and national private financing.
Mechanisms to develop climate finance already in place
One of the most well known is the carbon market, which is divided into two submarkets: the regulatory market and the voluntary market. The first makes it possible to use the greenhouse gas emission reductions from virtuous projects to sell them to companies that have emission limits. To date, it has not achieved its objectives. The second was created by companies which are seeking to have responsible practices on their own initiative. This voluntary market is doing better because it is possible to measure its "
very concrete development benefits" and because "the prices are very stable." (Samuel Bryan).
The CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) is another driver of action. It allows industrialized countries to finance projects that reduce or avoid emissions in developing countries and are rewarded with carbon credits. In return, the countries benefit from transfers of skills and technologies, while contributing to international efforts to reduce emissions. The number of projects - 7,000 - demonstrates the success of the CDM. Unfortunately, Western countries are pulling out of this mechanism due to the fall in the price of the ton of carbon.
Finally, the Green Fund, ratified at the Cancun Conference in 2010, should in principle be capitalized with USD 100bn a year by 2020 in order to support developing countries in the implementation of climate projects. "
In the climate negotiations, the African Group considers that it would be necessary to mobilize USD 14bn in 2014. Today it has reached about USD 1bn. We are therefore far off the mark. If developing countries come to Paris in 2015 to subscribe to the agreement, the international community will need to provide financing" (Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu).
Read the rest of article
here.
This blog was originally posted on Ideas for Development.
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