Chris Huhne warned today that a deal on climate finance is vital to breaking the climate deadlock. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change arrived in New York for a meeting of the High Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing. The group was set up to identify ways of raising new and innovative sources of climate financing to reach $100 billion per annum of public and private finance by 2020 as agreed during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last December.
Chris Huhne said, “Helping developing countries tackle climate change is crucial if we are to secure a comprehensive and ambitious deal. Aside from a moral obligation to help vulnerable countries who have historically contributed little to the problem, it’s also in our own interests to provide practical support.
I’m looking forward to getting down to work with colleagues in New York to secure the long term finance needed to tackle climate change and kick start a renewed push towards a truly ambitious climate change deal.”
Chaired by Prime Ministers Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, the Group consists of finance and environment Ministers and economic and finance experts including President Obama’s chief economic advisor Larry Summers, George Soros and Prof Nick Stern.
The Group will work to develop proposals to present to the UN Secretary General by the end of October 2010, ahead of the international discussions at Cancun, Mexico.
If you would like further information please contact Shruti Dudhia on +44 7920 722046 or shruti.dudhia@decc.gsi.gov.uk