A drop in the ocean
COMMENTS: The 14 billion Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor Party) has in his suitcase for climate financing is not really a big gift package.
Støre (Labor Party) arrived together with Minister of Climate and Environment Espen Barth Eide at the climate summit in Glasgow on Monday. Before they left, Støre announced that Norway would put NOK 14 billion on the table within five years.
This is a doubling of the climate funding for developing countries.
“With this decision to double by 2026, combating climate change will be a major focus in Norwegian development policy in the years to come,” Støre told VG.
The doubling of the Norwegian contribution to climate finance is the same as Erna Solberg (H) should have brought to the UN meeting in New York in September. She had to put this away after the election defeat weeks earlier.
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Climate financing
Getting climate finance for poor countries is one of the most important issues on the agenda during this climate summit. It was already promised in 2009 in Copenhagen that funding of 100 billion dollars each year from the rich to the poor countries should be in place by 2020, but this is not yet clear to the countries.
This money will ensure financing of climate roofs and renewable energy for countries that are unable to take this bill themselves.
“If the globe is to cope with this, developing countries must receive support and help. It’s about solidarity, but it’s also about coping. A developing country that has the choice between investing in a coal-fired power plant or going for sun or wind must do the latter, and get support for it, ” said Støre to NRK.
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14 billion
But how much is actually 14 billion kroner?
In the next few years, the new Fornebu line between Majorstuen and Fornebu will be built in Oslo. Just cost issues on this project amount to $ 14 billion.
The Rogfast project, which will provide ferry-free E39 between Stavanger and Bergen, has a cost framework of DKK 24.8 billion.
On the central government’s revenue side, 14 billion is around four weeks of cash flow from the central government’s direct financial commitment (SDFI), we are based on the figures from Petoro in the third quarter of this year.
By next year, it is expected that around DKK 13 billion will come from dividends in Equinor in revenue to the state. And the state’s net cash flow from the entire petroleum business, ie the money transferred to the Petroleum Fund, will this year be NOK 184 billion. This is likely to be even higher, with the high oil and gas prices we have set recently.
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Increase contributions
For Africa, the cost of climate change is already estimated to be at least $ 7 billion. Climate change may come to expel more than 143 million people by 2050, according to the World Bank.
More countries must therefore increase their contribution to financing climate roofs in developing countries, and a larger share must go to climate adaptation, wrote Flemming Møller Mortensen, Dag Inge Ulstein and Per Olsson Fridh, current and former development ministers in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, respectively, in a joint post in Energy and Climate earlier this year.
“It is the poorest and most vulnerable populations in developing countries that are hardest hit. Because they are already exposed and have at least to defend themselves with. That is why developing countries are demanding increased climate financing to make up for the damage that the climate crisis is already causing, “the three ministries wrote.
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Delivery schedule
The UK COP26 presidency has sought to allay concerns about climate finance by releasing a “delivery plan” to reach the $ 100 billion target.
The US has signaled that it can double its public climate funding to $ 11.4 million per year by 2024. The EU will contribute a further $ 4 billion by 2027.
Men according to Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), these contributions are unlikely to be sufficient to secure developing countries, especially the most vulnerable countries.
SEI has previously calculated that Norway must cut emissions corresponding to the size of our own population and contribute a larger amount in climate financing. The reason for this is that oil and gas extraction and consumption are what have helped to increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
“This historic responsibility should motivate Norway to take a leading role internationally in the fight for a fair climate agreement,” the report said.
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Drop in the sea
A doubling of climate finance is, of course, more than keeping this at the same level as today.
But when this is not to happen until 2026 at the latest, it does not seem like the government is in as much haste as it is being communicated from the UN that we actually are. According to the UN Environment Program, we only have eight years to halve greenhouse gas emissions, make plans, implement necessary policies and deliver on targets.
It can also be discussed whether the amount is as large as it is sold in as. In the Norwegian context, 14 billion kroner is actually just a drop in the ocean.