Addressing climate change doesn’t need millions of dollars — it needs trillions
Bonn — Behind wrangling at UN climate talks over financial aid for poor countries dealing with increasingly extreme weather and bracing for worse to come, real-world projects that can save livelihoods — and sometimes lives — are queued up, waiting for approval and money. Rich countries are slowly opening the spigots to help reinforce coastlines sinking under rising seas, convert agriculture to drought-resistant crops, or switch public transportation from petrol to electricity powered by the sun and wind. Tens of billions of dollars — the true figure is sharply contested — from public and private sources are now flowing every year. But that falls well short of the $100bn a year promised from 2020, and is a pittance compared with the trillions experts agree will be needed to engineer the global transition to a green economy. The 197-nation Paris climate treaty calls for capping the rise in temperature to "well below" 2°C, and pressure is mounting to set the bar even lower at 1.5°C. Th...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.