24 countries pledge US$ 10.14bn to Green Climate Fund

The governments of Australia and Belgium joined other nations in pledging Au$ 200m and €5.17m to the Green Climate Fund. The sum will facilitate in developing economies to focus on investment in infrastructure, energy, forestry and emissions reduction programmes to meet sustainability targets.

A total of 24 countries contributed to the Fund raising approximately US$10.14bn since GCF’s initial resource mobilization efforts started in July this year.

The announcements were made at the high-level Ministerial session on the climate finance that was held at COP20 in Lima. The conference on Climate Finance was attended by 196 Parties to the UNFCCC, 35 of which took the floor to guide the deliberations on the Fund.

According to the Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, Hela Cheikhrouhou "The USD 10 billion threshold reached here at COP20 is a landmark achievement. I warmly welcome the new pledges from Belgium and Australia and congratulate them for their leadership”.

In a joint press release the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop stated “The pledge from Australia will facilitate private sector led economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region with a particular focus on investment in infrastructure, energy, forestry and emissions reduction programmes”.

Talks about investment in infrastructure, energy, forestry and emissions reduction programmes was discussed further at the conference in Lima.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation Alexander De Croo express the degree of assistance the fund will have on developing countries to “ensure sustainability of their economic growth path."

Hela Cheikhrouhou says: “The Green Climate Fund continues to call upon countries that are able and willing to come forward and invest in the Fund. We equally call upon developing countries to take urgent actions to access the Fund in the coming months".

A total of 70 developing countries have so far assigned national authority or focal point to replace the governmental equivalent of the Green Climate Fund.

Approximately, 27 emerging countries have requested support from the fund to prepare and calculate for it.