2015

‘Climate Funds Update’ is an independent website providing information on climate finance designed for developing countries to address climate change. The data is based on information received from 25 multilateral, bilateral, regional and national climate funds and the funding is largely up to date by the end of June 2015. A total of $17 billion has currently been funded (money deposited), of which 96% is country-sourced¹. The updated table below shows the level of national climate financing to developing countries, as percentage of the accumulated Climate Debt. The values are based on the latest available updates.

The table includes the 80 countries with Climate Debt in ClimatePositions (countries with full data²). Read the table like this: 1) The current Climate Debt of the United States accounts for 36.88% of the global Climate Debt (climate funds has been subtracted), 2) The updated US Climate Debt per capita is $6,375 (ranks 10 out of 147 countries with full data), and 3) The US climate funds amounts to 0.12% of the calculated Climate Contribution, or fee, (ranks 21 out of 147 countries with full data). Note that the Climate Debt is found by subtracting Climate Funds from the calculated Climate Contribution (fee). More comments below the table.

Only 79% of the total deposited climate funding of $17 billion is categorized as “Approved” and only 52% of the total deposited climate funding is both “Approved” and aimed at countries with no Climate Debt in ClimatePositions. Other studies from e.g. OECD (see the sources and links at the bottom) reach up to around $62 billion of climate financing (in 2014) because they include loans, export credits, development donations labelled “climate-friendly” etc.

The method of calculating Climate Debt is identical for all countries – only the national indicator-values vary. The chosen ‘indicators’ and the mutual weightings are of course open for disputes. Different weightings can easily be entered³ and tested in ‘ClimatePosition (Excel)’.

Alternative CO2 Emission targets can also be entered. Below, the CO2 target (tons of CO2 emitted from fossil fuels, per capita, by 2024) has been loosened and the new per capita Climate Debts has been calculated for the United States and China. The table is read like this: If the global CO2 Emission target were to be set at 6.0 tons per capita, by 2024 (instead of the current 2.7 tons), then China’s Climate Debt would be $245 per capita, or 4.6% of the one of the United States (instead of the current 6.6%). If the 6.0 tons-target were to be effectuated, then the allowable level of CO2 Emissions from developing countries would increase dramatically. See this ‘graphic presentation’ (pdf) of the methodology.

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¹The country-sourced funding is subtracted the accumulated national Climate Contributions in ClimatePositions. The rest-funding, which is less than 6% of the total ‘Climate Funds Update’ (Contributions to the funds / Multilateral by country / Money deposited), is non-national contributions from European Commission, Investment Income, Interests, NGOs and Sale of CERs – these funds are not included in ClimatePositions or in the table above.

²Only Luxembourg is excluded due to missing data (Ecological Footprint) and has contributed to the climate funds.

³Enter and test new baseline targets and indicator-weightings in ‘ClimatePosition (Excel)’, sheet “calcussion”, column AI. (CO2 target is cell AI12).

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Source on climate change financing is from ‘Climate Funds Update’ (Contributions to the funds / Multilateral by country / Money deposited).

Five articles from Climate Home on ways of measuring climate finance: ‘OECD estimates climate finance flows at $60 billion‘, ‘$60bn by 2016: Rich urged to ramp up climate finance flows‘, ‘Venezuela: Climate finance is a form of blackmail‘, ‘Loans or grants for climate finance?‘ and ‘Three reasons to be optimistic about climate finance flows‘. 

Illustration (collage) by Claus Andersen, 2015.