Enhancing Equity in Climate Finance – the key to tackle climate crisis and inequality

18 February 2024,14:00 - 15:30 Nepal Time

Venue: Mount Everest (Bhrikuti Mandap)

Context and Background

The humanity is facing the multifaceted crisis of climate change and inequality. The richest people, richest countries, and large corporations are destroying the world with continued carbon emission and accumulation of wealth. In fact, the super-rich 1% are responsible for as much emissions of the 60% of humanity. As a result, they are robbing the majority of people’s life on a healthy, liveable and more equal planet.

Under the Paris Agreement, both high- and low-income countries agreed to limit global warming based on their fair share. Further, high income countries committed to mobilize $100 bn annually to support climate action in low-income countries with at least half of it dedicated to climate change adaptation. However, the funding has failed to reach countries and communities most vulnerable to climate change. The low-income countries over exposed to climate extremes lack capacity to finance climate action and development measures. As a result, the people living in poverty, women, children, and those experiencing marginalization are forced to bear the brunt of the climate crisis.  

Oxfam’s multiple research on climate finance show that high income countries haven’t met their pledge in the one hand and are pushing loan based instruments on the other hand putting low-income countries in further debt burden. This failure in both limiting carbon emission and dealing with the impacts has led to widespread loss and damage.

Who should shoulder the burden to change the course of action is an easy one to answer. The richest individuals, countries and corporations must be forced to bring an end to the twin crises of climate breakdown and inequality. Their excessive carbon emissions must be cut, first and fastest. Their power and influence over politics, the economy, and society must be reduced to limit their capacity to derail policies aimed at tackling the climate and inequality crises to protect their financial interests.

There is an urgent need to fix the current climate finance flows, and in fact the overall financial system, which are largely exclusionary to people living in poverty, women, indigenous people and people experiencing marginalization.

The session will expose how current economic system is failing the people and planet and outline possible pathways to changing this system so that the equal transformation is realized that can successfully stabilize our planet and guarantee a good life for all of humanity.  

Objective

• Together with session participants,
  • reflect on the contradictions in the current financial flows, and whose interest is it serving.
  • Deliberate on how to tackle inequality in current climate finance system and how to make it equitable.

Agenda