WORLD leaders have “no excuse” not to deliver on the $100 billion climate pledge, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The finance promise was made 12 years ago, and has been one of the sticking points at the climate summit as leaders of rich countries are urged to contribute more for adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
It comes as the First Minister accepted a Ray of the Day award for Scotland’s financial commitment of £2 million to loss and damage, a separate fund than the $100bn pledge, which was doubled from the £1 million announcement on Monday.
And, climate activist Vanessa Nakate praised Scotland’s commitment to the specific fund to tackle irreversible climate change, but warned it is “just the start”.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon hits back at claims she 'abandoned' Holyrood to be at COP26
The First Minister made the comments during a panel discussion with Nakate in the main plenary at COP26 on Thursday afternoon.
Sturgeon said that one of the main outcomes from the summit should be a real commitment to providing the funding to help poor and developing countries tackle and adapt to climate change.
She said: “There’s many things that Glasgow has to achieve and I hope we will see them achieved over the next 48 hours or so but one relatively straightforward thing, that should be achievevd and there is no excuse for not achieving, is meeting that $100 billion commitment.
“It was made 12 years ago, it will be shameful if we come out of this COP without that commitment being met.”
After delegates erupted into applause, the First Minister (pictured) added: “For rich countries that should be relatively easy to do, so to world leaders I’d say please don’t miss that opportunity.”
It comes as Nakate called for a separate fund to be set up to provide financial assistance for loss and damage to communities who have been adversely affected by the impact of climate change, and she praised Scotland’s leadership.
She said that for many in developing countries they can no longer “adapt to the climate crisis, adapt to lost identities, adapt to lost culture”.
Nakate said: “That is why it important to see that a separate fund for loss and damage is put in place, and it’s a start to know that Scotland has put in some money in that fund and recently doubled the finance for the fund to £2million.
“This is just a start and we want more businesses, more countries, to put more investment in loss and damage fund because we need finance for communities that are on the frontline of the climate crisis.”
READ MORE: Stephen Kerr fumes as Nicola Sturgeon trebles cash for countries hit by climate change
It comes as the First Minister accepted the Ray of the Day award at a side event hosted by Oxfam.
The award, from Climate Action Network International (CANI), is for Scotland’s commitment to financial assistance for loss and damage caused by climate change.
Tasneem Essop, executive director at CANI, hailed Sturgeon as an “inspiration” and jokingly had to scribble out the £1m written on the board and change it to £2m - after Scotland announced on Thursday that the cash is being doubled.
Essop said: “When you made the announcement, we awarded you with the Ray of the Day, and of course, you know, that you are leading by example and we hope that other rich nations would follow and you've made our exercise slightly inconvenient because now, you've doubled your amount.”
She added: “I hope that we can do this with all the other commitments that rich nations have made but broken.”
Sturgeon made a significant key-note speech on Loss and Damage at the event hosted by Oxfam International, Practical Action and Prakriti Resources Centre, before she was given the award.
She said that the financial commitment was “key to unlocking progress” and said that keeping the 1.5C global warming target alive and climate finance are “inextricably linked”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel