A number of countries will pledge intended contributions to the UN's Green Climate Fund (GCF) at the UN climate summit in New York on 23 September, including Denmark, Norway and France.
Heads of government committed to mobilise $100bn/yr by 2020 for the GCF at the 16th UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (Cop 16) in Cancun, Mexico, in 2010. But so far only Germany has announced a substantial $1bn donation.
Norway has confirmed that it will pledge $31mn for 2015 at the New York summit, while the International Emissions Trading Association expects France to announce a donation to the fund next week.
Denmark will state an intended contribution at next week's summit, according to a climate ministry spokesman.
The GCF is the main UN mechanism for transferring finance to the developing world from developed countries to aid in adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.
UNFCCC executive secretary Christiana Figueres said last week that a $10bn collective contribution to the fund would be a strong gesture as the world looks forward to a new binding climate agreement at Cop 21 in Paris in December next year. She hopes nations will start to declare their proposed donations at the New York climate summit, she said.
The current dearth of capitalisation of the fund has caused tensions between governments in recent negotiations, with some countries, including India and China, refusing to state their emission reduction targets for a new global climate agreement until developed countries have given substantially to the GCF.
All UN member states will be required to announce their contributions to the fund at the first Pledging Conference, scheduled for November this year.
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