The Green Climate Fund (GCF) meant to channel billions of dollars to poor nations said it had had a “very difficult and disappointing” meeting ending on Wednesday, in a new setback after US President Donald Trump pulled out US support last year.
Australian climate finance expert Howard Bamsey announced he was stepping down as executive director of the GCF at the end of the four-day meeting in Songdo, South Korea, the GCF said in a statement.
The GCF, whose South Korean headquarters opened in 2013 with backing from almost 200 nations, aims to help poor nations cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt their economies to heatwaves, storms and rising seas.
But it has been bogged down by disputes between rich and poor nations about how and where to invest.
“This has been a very difficult and disappointing board meeting for all of us, but most importantly for those people who are most vulnerable to climate change impacts, and who depend on the activities of the Fund,” GCF chair Lennart Baage said in a statement.
The meeting had “challenging and difficult discussions between Board members”, the GCF said in a statement.
A GCF spokesman said Baage declined further comment.
The meeting failed to add to its portfolio of 76 projects worth $3.7 billion, which range from promoting rooftop solar energy in India to helping Colombia safeguard wetlands.
In another story, it’s said he resigned for “personal reasons”:
UN climate fund chief resigns for personal reasons while board meeting collapses
In a dramatic conclusion to a meeting that failed to approve any finance for the developing world, Howard Bamsey announced his exit from the Green Climate Fund
Howard Bamsey resigned as executive director of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) with immediate effect on Wednesday, in a bombshell finish to a fraught board meeting.
The Australian cited “pressing personal issues” in his resignation letter, adding that it was best he leave before the next round of fundraising started.
It came as the four-day meeting in Songdo, South Korea collapsed with no decisions on 11 funding bids worth nearly $1 billion, or on how to top up the flagship climate finance initiative’s dwindling resources.
…
“The gall of the Trump guy to say #GCFund replenishment process should be donor driven. Guess he’ll just sit down and shut up then,” tweeted Action Aid’s Brandon Wu. He noted that one of the founding principles of the fund was to give developing countries an equal say.
Brandon Wu@brandoncwuPls recall that one of #GCFund‘s selling points is balanced governance, w/recipient countries having more control cf. other funds. Contributor driven replenishment process undermines that, & there’s tons of evidence that top-down intl financing is often misguided & unsustainable.
Could this be the first sign that the Green bandwagon is finally, at long last, running out of road? I certainly hope so.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.
It’s a start.
Now let’s get rid of these other parasitic UN “funding bodies”.
And their organisers.
Seriously, these career Politicians & diplomats are little more than parasites, living the high life, being feted and pampered everywhere they go, living like royalty……all on somebody else’s buck! They contribute nothing to society yet enjoy an unbelievably privileged lifestyle jet-setting here& there, staying in 5-star hotels while lining their own nests and setting up cosy arrangememts with think-tanks and NGOs that will allow them to milk the system in perpetuity. It’s a scandal.
“Finland’s board member Satu Santa la”
They should know now, Santa isn’t coming.
Surprise surprise!
Apparently even at managing level Socialism doesn’t work.
BTW, I will gladly have some of these unattended funds.
The other day I read a post about what happens with foreign aid money: https://tthomas061.wordpress.com/2018/06/26/heart-of-darkness/
I can’t see how the GCF would be any different. I have heard it described as transfer of wealth from the poor in developed nations to the rich in developing ones. Some are/were calling for an increase to $400 billion a year for the fund. With that much in play, the corruption would be epic.
Yes, $100 billion per year was just a start
Rat. leave. ship. sinking.
I wonder if detailed accounts are available to show where the money went?
China, the new “climate leader” should step up. I mean, what’s the point of being a “leader” if you’re not going to point the way?
They need to use the remaining funds to help buy election results in the U.S. before the fund is exhausted. /sarc
It’s a crowded field of influence peddling but with the SEIU impaired there is a void to fill.
The Aussies, Brits, and French need to double down on pledges to reinforce their commitment and get farther ahead of Trump. /more sarc
The highway robbers want a “say” in how much money they rob from us, and how to spend it?
Hmmm… We’ll chew on that one for a while, and get back to you.
“a meeting that failed to approve any finance for the developing world”
How much time do they get to develop? I’ve been hearing this “developing world” song for 50 years. To where any time I hear it, my ears perk up to hear the balderdash sure to follow.
In the 1950’s, tv commercials were about the Peace Corp, handing out farm tools, digging wells, planting seeds. Think it made any difference? Aid has been going to, as the church people say when they need money for their beg-a-thons, AF Rica, far longer.
So rich countries can’t do this work directly with grants, they need to go through UN third party administration to get the work done?
Democrats and socialists love to be channellers of OPM, don’t they? They know they will all get to live high off the river-banks of the money flow. A certain Linton-cay Oundation-fay comes to mind…
It is easy to spend other peoples money. It only gets rough when the other people don’t let you have it.
“…help poor nations cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt their economies to heatwaves, storms and rising seas….”
No inducement is required to fix real problems. Once real problems become apparent a fix is usually forthcoming pronto. I thought one of the definitions of poor nations was that they had no industrial emissions to speak of cutting, thus the cutting targets non-point sources–notoriously difficult to fix.
Your be amazed to find out just how much you can spend a couple of biros and a office char can ‘cost’ , and of course to get the ‘bast people ‘ you need to pay them .
There at least 1001 ways money can and is scammed off the top and bottom in this types of setting , although to be fair all those ‘reports’ cost quite a bit even if they are largely works of fiction .
And I am sure Bamsey did not walk away empty handed , billions of dollars and little real accountability other than scoring the correct political points in the right goals . What can go wrong !
Oh ! But it’s lovely watching ALL THESE DEDICATED, PHILANTHROPIC ORGANISATIONS
suddenly finding that the OBAMA-DOLLARS are no longer available for them to distribute !!
.
UN Green Climate Fund………..HAS SUCCEEDED ……….the PLANET is “GREENING”
due to the EXTRA ATMOSPHERIC LEVEL OF CO2 !
So now …..it can be shut-down ! Mission accomplished !
UN Green Climate Fund shut down soon !
followed by the entire UN “blood-suckers” Organisation !
Then Amnesty International ! The Human Rights Commissars…….oops….Commission !
It’s ALWAYS NICE to share some GOOD NEWS !
Howard Bamsey resigned for “Personal Reasons”, namely, that Personally he thinks that This Job Sucks and all of the money is running out fast and everyone is going to dump hatred on the poor chump who ends up being in charge when the whole thing collapses into complete acrimony. Which will likely be soon.
Give Trump credit for seeing through the Paris scam more clearly than any other public figure did. It was never about emissions, it was never about CO2, it was never about “global warming”. It was always all about guilting Uncle Sugar into handing out hundreds of billions of dollars with no say in how they were spent. Now that the US has pulled out, there is no point at all left to the entire enterprise, and surprise, surprise, it is all falling apart.
Isn’t all this global climate funding just a rebranding of imperialism and colonialism ?? What right do wealthy countries have to dictate to poorer countries what their energy infrastructure should be?
https://youtu.be/W0fazSXX0Q8
The USA debt balance has essentially become meaningless . If it was recognized for the devastating problem it is would the USA be wasting $ billions in a pretend attempt to set the earth’s thermostat by tweaking a trace gas who’s abundance greens the earth ? I think not .
When you have a Prime Ministers like Canadian Trudeau who claims budgets balance themselves , then promises a $10 billion annual deficit that turns into $28.5 billion in less than two years you know
he struggles with grade 3 math .
The Green Climate Fund relied on the debt spewing USA to prop it up . Without the USA wanting to throw their money away the fund won’t make a dent on anything let alone the earths temperature .