COP26: Kevin Conrad details what he expects from the conference
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The pledge came when Mr Brown was Prime Minister, where he called on wealthy governments to transfer funds to low-income countries to raise at least $100billion (£730 million) at a climate summit in 2009. But that target has never been met, with Mr Brown saying himself that “in no year since 2009 has the fund ever yielded more than $40billion of the promised $100billion.” Mr Brown has called for Governments to do far more to reach the targets he set, it has garnered some criticism for being an empty promise.
Kevin Conrad, Special Climate Change Envoy for Papua New Guinea, said: “We are already seeing islands disappear in Papua New Guinea, communities are having to relocate.
“So what we want to see is actual ambition, finance and transparency.”
Mr Conrad said the funding is urgent for Papua New Guinea, which is already suffering from the impacts of the climate crisis.
He told Sky News: “We need money to relocate people and deal with adapting to climate change that has to do also with food security.
“We’re trying to finance the switch to renewable energy and we also have to pay communities to save the forest.
“Climate change acts differently in different parts of the world – we are seeing communities disappear.”
Mr Conrad was furious the Mr Brown’s $100billion target has still not been achieved as he warned world leaders that more funding is needed if his country is going to successfully evade a crisis.
He said: “We are a bit upset that all the countries in the world cannot raise $100billion.
“That was a goal set by Gordon Brown over 11 years ago and we still haven’t met it today.
“We are thankful for anything, but we need more.”
But Mr Brown has shifted the blame on the Conservatives for not doing more to help meet his 12-year-old pledge.
Just weeks before the COP26 summit, which began today, the former Prime Minister likened the international efforts to meet his pledge as organising a whip-round at a charity fundraiser”.
Mr Brown went on a rant about Governments’ failed efforts to reach his target in an article he wrote for The Independent.
He stressed the need to ramp up shorter-term carbon reduction targets for 2025 and 2030 and urged companies to reduce their carbon footprint.
Mr Brown wrote: “We knew that, as Arctic and Antarctic ice disappears, floods and fires increase, and threats to biodiversity multiply, the poorest people in the poorest countries will be hit hardest.”
“Instead of countries agreeing to an equitable sharing of the burden, we have treated the business of raising $100billion like organising a whip-round at a charity fundraiser.”
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The former Prime Minister added: “Until developed countries outline a credible path to making good their promise, vulnerable countries will not trust any pledges made on future emissions reductions and they could decide to bring Cop26 down.”
This comes as world leaders gather today for climate discussions in Glasgow for the important COP26 climate summit.
World leaders will make new commitments and form deal in joint efforts to tackle the crisis.
Countries like Papua New Guinea will be hoping pledges to rescue the developing world from the impacts of climate change will be key items on the agenda.
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