French President, Emmanuel Macron, on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 welcomes governments and representatives from all over the world to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement at the One Planet Summit. The Summit presents an opportunity to reaffirm global climate commitments to combat climate change and to emphasise the transition from negotiation to implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The General Secretary of the ACT Alliance, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, commented, “We welcome the opportunity to celebrate the Paris Agreement. However, we must not forget that the Agreement is only a framework for cooperation. The Paris Agreement can only deliver results if countries fully commit to climate action and to increasing their ambition.”
“It is people and communities living in poverty and in vulnerable conditions that are already struggling with the impacts of climate change who face the greatest burdens. Solutions to alleviate these burdens exist and we know what must be done. It is time to turn the paragraphs of the Paris Agreement into concrete action,” said Bueno de Faria.
To enable concrete climate action, the availability of and accessibility to climate finance will be essential. “Financial institutions and industries must transform to become Paris-compatible in order to provide financial support for the energy transition needed to keep global warming below 1.5C and to strive for resilient societies,” said Martin Vogel, co-chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Change Group.
“Adequate support for climate action is long overdue and remains a sensitive topic as nobody wants to pay the bill. However, funds are needed for investments to provide renewable energy access for all and to help people to adapt and manage situations of loss and damage due to climate change,” said Vogel.
ACT Alliance is concerned of the current approach of multilateral development banks such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and other institutions on climate finance.
“There is a much needed reform of multilateral development banks to increase the transparency around the impact of their investments in energy and to enhance financial innovation to better support the adaptation needs of developing countries,” said Vogel.
