Emerging countries need more than US$ 2 trillion a year to face climate crisis

Developing and emerging countries — with the exception of China — will need more than US$ 2 trillion (R$ 10.3 trillion) a year to finance the fight against climate change, says a report requested by the COP27 presidency and released this Tuesday. fair (8).

Almost half of the amount is expected to be released by outside investors.

Investments in emerging markets and developing countries – excluding China – should serve to “reduce emissions, strengthen resilience, address the loss and damage caused by climate change and restore land and nature”, says the commissioned expert report. by the Egyptian presidency of COP27 and by the British presidency of the preceding COP.

The total amount needed for the goals should reach US$ 2.4 trillion (R$ 12.35 trillion) a year by 2030, says the document published on the third day of the 27th climate conference.

Of the total, approximately US$ 1 trillion (R$ 5.1 trillion) must come from international investors, from developed countries or multilateral institutions. The rest would come from those countries’ own economies, from private or public sources.

The current level of investment in emerging countries and developing economies (except China) reaches US$ 500 billion (R$ 2.58 trillion) .

The 100-page analysis outlines a series of global measures to try to keep alive the target of a maximum temperature increase of +1.5ºC.

“Rich countries should assume that it is in their own interest,” explain economists Vera Songwe, Nicholas Stern and Amar Bhattacharya, authors of the report.

They present concrete proposals such as the re-foundation of multilateral development banks or the increase in loans with reduced or zero interest rates from rich countries.

Currently, climate finance fluctuates at around US$ 30 billion (R$ 154.8 billion). The value should double in the next three years.

Emerging countries include developing countries that have experienced strong growth in recent decades, such as Brazil, India, South Africa, Indonesia or Vietnam.

China, which is the world’s second-largest economy and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is a different case.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Monday for a “review” of the functioning of the international financial system to make it possible to help countries affected by disasters such as Pakistan, which suffered historic floods this year.