Climate crisis funds not reaching countries in need, senior UN official says

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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/oct/27/somalia-famine-climate-crisis-funds-un-humanitarian-chief-martin-griffiths

By Kaamil Ahmed, The Guardian. 

Excerpt: The UN’s humanitarian chief has questioned why billions of dollars pledged to tackle the climate crisis have not been used to fight famine in Somalia. Martin Griffiths said he did not know where the promised $100bn (£87bn) a year to fight the impact of global heating in poorer countries had gone, and called for greater transparency around climate finance. ...“Somalis are the victims of our behaviour, the victims of our habits – not of theirs. And yet we haven’t even managed to get to them the money that we pledged nobly some time ago for exactly this kind of purpose.” The UN has warned that a state of famine is likely to be declared in areas of Somalia by the end of the year as the country continues to struggle with drought and flare-ups of conflict. ...At the UN climate change conference in 2009, rich countries pledged to give low-income states $100bn a year by 2020 to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. The Green Climate Fund was created as a way to deliver the money, but has had limited impact because rich countries often channel their financing through the World Bank or regional development banks. ...According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which monitors donor contributions to climate financing, developed countries mobilised $83bn in 2020. Low-income countries received 8% of the money between 2016 and 2020.…

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