Oxfam is calling for Gordon Brown to take a big step in tackling climate change before the General Election at the first High Level Advisory Group meeting in London tomorrow (31).
The UK Prime Minister will be co-chairing the group set up by the UN Secretary General last month to identify innovative sources of financing, so that the $100bn a year by 2020 pledged by world leaders in Copenhagen can be met.
The international aid agency says the meeting must make progress in identifying the best sources of finance to help governments in poor countries tackle climate change. Options already on the table include implementing a carbon price for international transport, a tax on financial transactions – the Robin Hood Tax – or through innovative uses of governments’ savings at the International Monetary Fund. The group must produce a draft report in time for the Bonn climate talks in June and complete its work in time for this year’s climate conference in Mexico in November.
Oxfam’s Campaigns and Policy director Phil Bloomer said: “Gordon Brown has a real chance to move the world closer towards tackling climate change. He must push the group towards making clear recommendations in time for Mexico so that the most effective ways to generate funds are developed to help the millions of people urgently needing support.”
The IMF estimates that 60 per cent of climate finance required by developing countries should come from public sources, including taxes or levies on carbon and polluting activities. Public finance is crucial as important projects like building sea walls, reservoirs and infrastructure are unlikely to be attractive to private investors. The innovative sources already identified mean that this public money does not need to be drawn from national budgets.
Bloomer said: “Mr Brown should focus the group on raising public funds so that the millions of vulnerable people already living with the reality of climate change can be protected from its increasingly challenging impacts. This is an opportunity for Gordon Brown and other members of the group to begin delivering practical solutions to the world’s biggest crisis.”
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