The UN’s position on climate action is clear: investing in a sustainable, low carbon future and dropping the “business-as-usual approach”, is a good bet for business and government alike, leading to trillions of dollars in economic gains, and millions of new jobs.
Following the 2015 landmark Paris Agreement to fight climate change, it was decided that the existing Green Climate Fund (GCF) was essential to financing the aim of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius and advanced economies agreed to mobilize $100 billion per year by 2020, to help climate action in developing countries.
However, as of May 2018, GCF pledges were falling well short (some $10.2 billion), and some major economies such as Australia and the United States have expressed scepticism over the Fund.
The GCF’s Executive-Director, Javier Manzanares, was in New York this month to meet UN chief António Guterres and talk to diplomats about the importance and operation of the Fund.
When Mr. Manzanares came into to the UN News studios, he said the Fund’s investment message is getting through to UN Member States. Conor Lennon started by asked him if he was, nevertheless, worried by some countries’ lack of enthusiasm so far.
