EU commits €4 billion more to climate vulnerables, calls on the US to step up

(Climate Home News, 15 Sep 2021) The EU will commit an additional €4 billion ($5bn) by 2027 to support low-income and climate vulnerable countries, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.

Brussels expects Washington to follow suit and step up its climate finance contribution ahead of Cop26 climate talks this November. This, she said, is critical to plug an estimated $20bn shortfall to the $100bn goal rich nations promised to mobilise annually by 2020.

Addressing the EU parliament on Wednesday, Von der Leyen told lawmakers major emitters like the EU and the US have “a special duty to the least developed and most vulnerable countries”.   

“The EU contributes $25bn a year but others still leave a gaping hole in reaching the global target,” she said. “Europe is ready to do more but expects the United States and our partners to step up too.” 

Developing countries have made closing the gap a condition for success at Cop26 in Glasgow, UK.

An EU Commission spokesperson told Climate Home News the €4bn is additional climate cash that will come out of the 2021-2027 EU budget and doesn’t involve new contributions from member states.

Jennifer Tollmann, senior policy advisor at think tank E3G, said this was “a strong move when the [EU is] already the world’s largest climate finance donor”, adding it was great to see Von der Leyen calling out the US.

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Climate Home News, 15 Sep 2021: EU commits €4 billion more to climate vulnerables, calls on the US to step up

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