The Green Climate Fund (GCF)’s first "pledging conference" concluded in Berlin, Germany, on Thursday with $9.3 billion being pledged as support for climate action in developing countries. This figure was just short of the unofficial target of $10 billion.
GCF is the main financial instrument under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under which developed countries responsible for causing climate change are morally obliged to help developing countries with new finance for public and private sector projects and programmes.
In the pledging conference, the UK pledged $1.1 billion and joined 20 other countries which have contributed to the GCF. The conference also saw significant pledges by Italy ($313 million), Norway ($130 million) and developing nations like Mongolia which committed $50,000.
Countries like Australia, Austria, Belgium, Ireland and Canada, however, did not meet the expectations of the global community. They were expected to make substantial contributions to the fund.
