UN New York summit will test commitment to Green Climate Fund

The UN Climate Summit next week will test the willingness of wealthy nations to capitalise a fund to assist developing countries in their efforts to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change.

The summit is set for 23 September in New York and has been called for by Ban Ki Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as he seeks to bolster political ambition and urgency ahead the scheduled signing of a global legally binding climate deal at the COP21 meeting in Paris 2015.

Developing countries say that cash for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), designed to help finance low carbon projects to curb rising greenhouse gas emissions and improve climate change resiliency, is vital.

According to reports, pledges to the fund are likely to be far short of the US$15 billion in 2014 that poorer nations are hoping for.

More than 120 world leaders are expected to attend the summit with Mr Ban urging them to make "bold pledges" about climate change.

A range of countries have indicated their willingness to contribute to the GCF but German Chancellor Angela Merkel is currently the only leader to make a significant contribution, pledging US$1 billion over four years in July.

The GCF was launched in 2013 and is headquartered in South Korea.

Hela Cheikhrouhou, the fund’s Executive Director, said: "A number of countries are working very hard to try to ... make the announcements in New York. We think some of them will do so, and several more are likely to more broadly state their support."

Many countries’ aid budgets have been reduced as they focus on increasing growth and jobs domestically.

Prior to Germany's commitment, pledges to the GCF totalled US$55 million from 12 nations, according to the World Bank.

Reports have suggested that Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg will pledge US$31 million at the summit, for 2015 alone, which is less than many observers were expecting with Oslo often among the most generous contributors.

Developed nations set a target in 2009 of channelling US$100 billion annually from 2020 to help poorer nations deal with climate change and the GCF is seen as crucial mechanism to bridge the funding gap.

According to reports, the U.S., France, the UK, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands and Denmark could make pledges this year, but not necessarily at the September UN summit.

The finance is also seen as crucial in encouraging developing nations to join an international U.N climate deal, due in late 2015 at the UNFCCC’s COP21 climate change conference in Paris.

Marlene Moses, of Nauru, chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, said: "Climate finance is not only crucial for unlocking a deal, it is an indispensable part of bringing emissions down and helping vulnerable communities adapt.”