Ethiopia’s proposal for 100 million USD climate fund rejected

ESAT News (April 7, 2017)

Donors at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) board meeting in South Korea were not sold on the Ethiopian bid for US$100m to prepare communities for rising drought risk. African delegates – and aid agencies – said it was precisely the kind of initiative needed to protect the world’s poorest, according to a report by Climate Home.

While the UN’s flagship climate finance initiative approved eight proposals – including big hydro schemes opposed by NGOs – rich and poor countries disagreed vehemently on a ninth, Ethiopia’s proposal, the report said.

Failure to fund the scheme risked discouraging others from putting forward ambitious proposals for adapting to climate change, warned Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, a board member from DR Congo.

Delegates of the US, Canada and other developed countries on Wednesday pushed back a proposal for 100 million dollar funding proposal to help drought stricken communities in Ethiopia at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) board meeting in Songdo, South Korea.

“A bid for US$100 million to drought-proof Ethiopian communities has exposed a rich-poor divide in the UN’s flagship climate finance initiative,” said a report by Climate Home.

The report said the position by the rich countries reflected an independent panel of experts’ assessment that Ethiopia’s proposal was “weak” with “little scope for innovation”.

5.6 million of Ethiopians are on emergency food aid after the country’s worst drought in 50 years hit crops and livestock herds.