Did rich lie to the poor on climate cash?

Africa Climate Change Cash

One of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of next month's UN climate summit reaching anything like a comprehensive global climate change deal, is the lack of trust between the developed and developing parts of the world.

In order to meet goals in reversing the effects of climate change, the industrialised world has much to prove to developing nations who feel the world's largest economies must invest more resources into cutting emissions because they are responsible for producing so much of them.

But with next month's Copenhagen summit looming, an investigation from the BBC has revealed large sums promised to developing countries to help them tackle climate change cannot be accounted for.

Industrialised countries have failed to keep their promise

In a 2001 declaration, the world's wealthiest nations agreed to give developing countries $410 million a year to help with developing energy projects - but it is now unclear whether this money was actually paid. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has accused industrialised countries of failing to keep their promise.

The EU insists the money was paid out in bilateral deals but, quite astonishingly, freely admits it cannot provide data to prove this.

The money was pledged in the 2001 Bonn Declaration, signed by 20 industrialised nations - the 15 countries that then made up the European Union, plus Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.

Distrust between the two worlds could threaten the progress of Copenhagen

The date the payments were meant to start is unclear, but the total should be between $1.6 billion and $2.87 billion.

The BBC investigation has found that in eight years, just $260 million had been paid into two designated UN funds. This has now become an issue of trust between the two worlds and could threaten the progress of Copenhagen, especially considering the question of finance for developing countries to tackle climate change is one of the keys to a deal at the summit.

Poor countries may refuse to sign up to a new agreement should they feel unable to trust the richer countries. The developing world's renewable energy development is paralysed without funding from the industrialised world, and should any doubts arise over the mechanisms put in place to handle the flow of these funds, poor countries have little reason to sign up to anything.

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