First track climate fund in shambles

About fifteen months to go after the decision of First Track Fund taken in Copenhagen to support the developing countries particularly the most vulnerable to climate change, the process of designing of the fund is still in shambles.
Most of the developed countries, which promised to make their contribution to the fund in Copenhagen in 2009 and later in Cancun last year, are yet to make clear about their money to the UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“I know only about the contribution of the European Union, but pledges from other developed parties are yet to come in particular,” John Hey, a senior official for Information Coordination in the UNFCCC told the news agency.
The UNFCCC will report to the Chair of the Conference of the Parties (COP) next month on the progress of the commitment of the developed country parties to the fund, he said.
In the Copenhagen and Cancun, developed countries agreed to provide new and additional resources to the developing countries to the tune of US$ 30 billion for the period 2010-2012 for adaptation and mitigation purposes.
In Cancun, the parties agreed that the future climate funds to be governed by a board of 24 members and a 40- member committee, with 15 members from developed and 25 from developing countries, will work for designing the modalities and guidelines of the First Track Fund for transitional period.
The first meeting of the Transitional Committee, originally was scheduled to be held on 14-15 March 2011, was postponed until the latter part of April 2011, as a number of regional groups are yet to finalize their nominations.
Bangladesh and Zambia were elected members to the Transitional Committee from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) while Asia, Africa and Latin America are yet to finalize their nominations for seven members from each group.
“Once the regional groups are not finalizing the nominations, the Transitional Committee can not meet to decide about the First Track Fund,” John said.
Member of Transitional Committee from Bangladesh and Joint Secretary of the forest and environment ministry Aparup Chowdhury, however, said the regional groups are considering to reduce the number of their representation in the Transitional Committee and it is expected to be finalised before the first meeting of the committee next month.
Meanwhile, international aid agency Action Aid here yesterday criticised the USA and some other industrialised countries for undermining the UN efforts to tackle climate change by channeling their funds outside the UN system.
The Climate Investment Funds, set up in 2008 by 13 developed countries have so far received more than US$ 6 billion from donors. And, the associated Pilot Program on Climate Resilience (PPCR) alone has a budget of $945 million.
But, the Adaptation Fund under the UNFCCC has received only around US $60 million in contributions since it was set up in December 2008, it said adding this “deliberate marginalization” of the UN-run fund “is a major concern”.
The Climate Investment Funds, where the USA is the biggest donor, are channeled through multilateral banks such as the Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank and World Bank and the PPCR has a separate governance structure managed by the World Bank, said Action Aid.