United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said developed nations and global lenders must sharply expand climate financing for developing countries, calling for concrete steps toward $1.3 trillion a year by 2035.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called Monday for a major expansion of global climate financing, saying governments, wealthy nations and international development banks must move more money into climate-related infrastructure, adaptation and support for vulnerable countries.
Speaking in a special address at London Climate Action Week, Guterres said communities are already facing immediate consequences from climate-related disasters and argued that existing efforts are not enough to address the scale of the challenge.
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“We must do far more to protect people and communities from the here-and-now effects of climate chaos,” Guterres said. “Because even at full speed, we cannot outrun climate change. Its impacts are already here, compounding and cascading.”
Guterres said the need for expanded financing is especially clear in Africa, where he said enormous energy potential has not been matched by global investment. He pointed to the continent’s solar resources, mineral reserves and population while saying hundreds of millions of Africans remain without electricity.
“Africa is home to 60% of the world’s best solar resources, 30% of critical minerals, 1/5 of humanity,” Guterres said in remarks. “Yet it receives just 2% of global clean energy investment. At the same time, more than 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity. This is unjust and a lost opportunity for Africa and the world.”
The U.N. chief pressed developed countries to follow through on existing climate-finance commitments, including support for the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage and the Green Climate Fund. He said a previously pledged $300 billion for developing nations must be paired with steps to raise far larger sums over the next decade.
“Developed countries must keep their promises, including support to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage and the Green Climate Fund. The $300 billion pledged to developing countries must be delivered with concrete steps to mobilize the $1.3 trillion a year by 2035,” Guterres said. “In a world of shrinking aid, we must also unleash the catalytic role of multilateral development banks and the wider development finance system to help fund long-term infrastructure such as grids, mass transit, and water systems.”
Guterres also said multilateral development banks should more aggressively use recently expanded lending capacity to finance large-scale infrastructure and adaptation projects. He said recent reforms and policy decisions have increased those banks’ lending capacity by hundreds of billions of dollars.
“Recent reforms and policy decisions have increased the lending capacity of multilateral development banks by 600 to 800 billion U.S. dollars. They must use it aggressively to finance the infrastructure of the future and climate adaptation,” Guterres said. “They must also adapt their instruments to match the scale and time frame of the challenge, including 50-year finance where needed.”
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