Pakistan wants Green Climate Fund by March

Its chief delegate at the Durban summit says developing countries need swift injection of cash.

DURBAN:

Pakistan rallied behind the creation of a Green Climate Fund on Thursday saying it would like to see the fund become “operational” by March next year.

“The International Energy Agency (IEA) report has already predicted that with the current emissions rate the impacts of climate change will become irreversible by 2017, and so we quickly need money for adaptation in developing and vulnerable countries,” said Farrukh Iqbal Khan, lead negotiator of Pakistan delegation at the Durban climate summit.

“In order to get this money, we need to have a Green Climate Fund (GCF) become operational as soon as possible”.

In Cancun climate talks last year, parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) promised to create a fund that could mobilise $100 billion as long-term finance for countries to deal with climate change impacts, starting from 2020.

Earlier this year, a Transnational Committee (TC) on GCF was formed with the task to finalise the work of the GCF in terms of a report that needed to be adopted at COP17. But the progress on that was blocked by the US and Saudi Arabia in the preparatory meeting in Cape Town, who rejected the draft outright.

Regardless, the report was presented to the COP by co-chair Trevor Manuel from South Africa, where it was decided by the COP presidency that it would get re-opened for discussion in informal consultations.

The crucial step for parties here in Durban now is to set up a board to run the fund, so that it gets filled with the money. “There are a lot of pillars that need to be finalized. But we urgently need to set up the board here in Durban. Once the board is set up, then parties would start pitching in the money to the fund,” explained Iqbal.

The fund is expected to play an important role in enabling developing countries to adapt and mitigate climate change impacts. It will also assist countries to allow technology cooperation and transfer.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2011.