Global Green Climate Fund demands $400m, fast

Australia has been called to immediately commit a further $400 million to replenish a Green Climate Fund.

Climate finance is a key issue if the rules governing the Paris Agreement are to be finalised at a meeting in Poland in December. Picture: Thinkstock

Australia has been called to immediately commit a further $400 million to replenish a Green Climate Fund to help developing countries cope with the impacts of climate change.

This could increase to billions of dollars each year as the nation’s “fair share” contribution to a promised $US100 billion-a-year in global climate finance that was considered crucial to delivering the Paris Agreement.

The GCF was set up by the 194 countries party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2010 and had a key role in the Paris Agreement.

A new funding template published by World Resources Institute said Australia should be the sixth-biggest donor to the GCF despite being responsible for only 1.8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The formula was developed by former GCF board member Jacob Waslander, who said replenishment of the fund should be based on “objective criteria”.

The formula uses national income, share of cumulative greenhouse gas emissions between 1850 and 1990 and the present level of emissions per capita.

According to this calculation, Australia should contribute 4.25 per cent of funds to the GCF, behind the US, Britain, Japan, Germany and Canada.

Australia’s share of funding should be bigger than those of France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. New Zealand should be responsible for 1.08 per cent.

Climate finance is a key issue if the rules governing the Paris Agreement are to be finalised at a meeting in Poland in December.

The GCF has been in turmoil with a breakdown in decision-making and the resignation of the chief executive, Australian Howard Bamsley, in June.

The US, which has been ranked as responsible for 45 per cent of funding under the WRI model, has delivered only $US1 billion ($1.4bn) of its initial $US3bn pledge. Donald Trump says the US will make no more contributions.

Mr Waslander said three ­issues needed to be resolved for the GCF to work effectively.

They were confidence that promised money would arrive, the effectiveness of the GCF board, and the way in which board members were selected and to whom they should report.

The WRI formula indicates Australia’s liability for $US100bn a year of climate funding to developing countries could be as much as $4bn a year.

But not all of the $US100bn a year would be delivered through the GCF and other countries were being pressured to contribute, possibly reducing Australia’s share. These would include major emitters such as China, G20 member nations and Middle Eastern nations such as Qatar.

Contributions from these countries would be voluntary.

According to DFAT, Australia had invested more than half of a commitment made in 2015 to spend $1bn over five years to support developing countries build climate resilience and reduce emissions. This included $300m over four years for climate action in the Pacific.