E3G

Toward Low Carbon Resilient Economies-Implications for the Fast-Start Finance Package

By Monica Araya

A low carbon transition is underway but current efforts do not meet the <2°C imperative. Accelerating the low carbon transformation will require new models of low carbon development; the faster countries experiment with these models the better.

Innovation will also be needed to effectively respond to the impacts of climate change: geopolitical realities make the prospect of a <2°C deal uncertain making it wise for countries to build climate resilience strategies guided by a principle of ‘aim for <2°C, plan for 4°C’.

A hybrid system of public and private finance is needed to provide incentives to leave behind business-as-usual growth and development formulas, and to mobilise capital toward low carbon resilient economies. The fast start package in the Copenhagen Accord needs to deliver higher value for contributing countries and recipients. This would allow for moving beyond one-off efforts, which lead to marginal efficiency improvements rather than transformational change. A key priority for 2010-2012 is to demonstrate the feasibility of climate resilient development strategies.

This brief offers recommendations for donors, recipients, investors and development banks for moving toward a transformative fast start finance package in 2010-2012 period.

UNFCCC Negotiations

This report was recently presented at a side event the UNFCCC negotiations at Tianjin, China by E3G’s Monica Araya and Liz Gallagher (see pictures below). Andrei Bourrouet, Head of the Costa Rican Delegation and Clifford Polycarp of World Resources Institute (WRI) joined the panel discussions too.