Staff Writer
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, has issued a stark warning about the urgent need for increased climate finance to address the global climate crisis.
Speaking at the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development Programme virtual event, Stiell emphasised the critical role of international climate finance in supporting developing countries and mitigating the devastating impacts of climate change.
“We simply can’t afford a world of clean energy haves and have-nots,” Stiell declared. “In a two-speed global transition, pretty soon everyone loses.”
He highlighted the growing financial burden imposed on countries worldwide due to climate-related disasters, such as hurricanes, droughts, and floods.
Stiell called for a significant increase in international climate finance, emphasising that “trillions more are needed” to support the transition to a low-carbon economy and build climate resilience.
He urged multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank and the IMF, to play a more active role in providing concessional loans and debt relief to developing countries.
“Debt relief and introducing more climate-related debt clauses are a start,” Stiell said. “So is replenishing the World Bank’s International Development Association.”
He also emphasised the importance of G20 countries providing adequate funding to these institutions and working towards reforming the international financial architecture.
Looking ahead to COP29 in Baku, Stiell called for a new, ambitious goal for international climate finance that addresses the specific needs of developing countries.
He stressed the importance of public finance, grant or concessional funding, and increased accessibility for vulnerable countries.
“It’s not my job to prejudge what the new goal will look like,” Stiell said. “But it’s clear public finance must be at the core.”
Stiell urged world leaders to take decisive action on climate finance to ensure a sustainable and equitable future for all.
“Let’s choose the game-changer path ahead – the one that recognizes that bigger and better climate finance is entirely in every nation’s interests, and can deliver results everywhere,” he said.