US will not commit to climate change aid for poor nations at UN summit

[marmar]

(Guardian UK) Barack Obama will not be pledging any cash to a near-empty fund for poor countries at a United Nations summit on climate change next week, the UN special climate change envoy said on Friday.

The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has challenged the 125 world leaders attending the 23 September summit to make “bold pledges” to the fund, intended to help poor countries cope with climate change.

The UN has been pressing rich countries to come up with pledges of between $10bn and $15bn.

“We are putting a lot of pressure for them to do it at the summit on the 23rd,” the UN envoy and former Irish president, Mary Robinson, told the Guardian on the sidelines of a US Agency for International Development meeting. But she added: “I know the United States is not going to commit because I’ve asked.” .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/20/us-climate-change-aid-poor-nations-un-summit

[LittleBlue]

1. Is this Green Climate Fund even worth spending money on?

We need that money to solve our own problems. The article doesn't even say what specific projects the money funds. Does it end up in Swiss bank accounts or does it actually work?

I have to agree with Obama here.

[yeoman6987]

2. Me too

We already give the UN over 50 percent of the operating costs. Go to the rich countries of Saudia Arabia, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Kuwait, etc. we give way more then other countries. Time for them to step up and pay their fair share.