ACCESS TO CLIMATE FINANCE Climate Finance refers to local, national or transnational financing—drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing—that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions addressing climate change. The growth in funding options for developing countries and small states has grown dramatically over recent years. Commitments entrenched in the international climate change architecture reflect the need to plug the gap between the adaptation and mitigation action required and the financial resources available – particularly in small states. With the World Bank projected that the costs for adapting to 2C warmer world between 2010 and 2050 would range from US$70 billion to more than US$100 billion per annum, this funding is urgently required. Although funding has increased for small states, several challenges exist for small states accessing and coordinating climate finance:
▶ Small states can often struggle to meet the complex and bureaucratic requirements for funding. Limited digital infrastructure and access to data, also important prerequisites for robust climate finance proposal and reporting, are also prohibitive factors.
▶ The increase in funding channels has contributed to a disjointed landscape causing confusion. The complexity has also made it more difficult to monitor, report and verify climate finance.
▶ The dominant climate finance modalities disburse funds through intermediary agencies and so does not fall under the management of the national budget. Not only does this distort and complicate the budget process but also means climate funding often avoids the necessary parliamentary oversight and scrutiny.
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CLIMATE CHANGE AND SMALL STATES
