Norway PM calls for establishment of Green Fund
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A Green Fund should be established at the ongoing UN climate change conference, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
"Here in Cancun we should agree to establish a Green Fund," Stoltenberg told an open plenary during the conference. "And agree on a process for how to fund the Fund."
"Climate financing is not only about funding," Stoltenberg said. "It is also about balancing economic interests and responsibilities. And of creating trust between countries at all levels of development."
In Copenhagen last year, the developed countries agreed to mobilize one hundred billion U.S. dollars per year for climate actions in developing countries by 2020.
Stoltenberg and his Ethiopian counterpart Meles Zenawi have co- chaired the UN Secretary General's Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing. They studied how the 100 billion dollars can be mobilized.
"Our report concludes that it is challenging but feasible to reach this target," Stoltenberg said, adding that reaching the target will require a combination of: scaling up existing public instruments, implementation of new public instruments and increased private green investments in developing countries.
The report also underlines the importance of putting a price on carbon. According to Stoltenberg, pricing carbon emissions has a double climate effect: It represents a huge potential source of revenue for climate actions in developing countries and it provides incentives for reducing emissions in developed countries.
Stoltenberg said the outcome from Cancun must be a balanced package of decisions. "It must respect the interests and perspectives of all parties. It should cover all the key elements. Including mitigation, MRV, adaptation, financing and deforestation, " he said. "If we do not use this meeting to move forward together, we have not only lost an important opportunity. We have also lost precious time. And we risk losing the confidence of the world," Stoltenberg said.
Almost 25,000 delegates are attending the UN conference in Cancun, Mexico, seeking ways to reduce the world's greenhouse gas emissions. The conference will conclude on Friday.
