Fthem repeated forests, deadly floods in Pakistan, extreme droughts in Africa and even in Europe… We are seeing the devastating effects of climate change all over the world, while global warming is only + 1.1°C on average at global scale, compared to the pre-industrial era. The sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the synthesis of which was published in March, is, alas, very clear: if we do not act ambitiously against climate change, we could be heading towards a warming of +4°C by the end of the century, with very serious repercussions on human societies and ecosystems.
To avoid this catastrophic scenario, the IPCC insists on the need for new funding, whether to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to implement adaptation policies to limit the effects of climate change. It also insists on the importance of redistribution mechanisms between countries of the North and countries of the South, to take into account their differentiated responsibilities vis-à-vis global warming, as well as their respective capacities to deal with it.
Financial support for developing countries is an essential issue, present at the heart of the climate COP process and of the Paris agreement itself. But, to date, and despite repeated promises for more than ten years by the industrialized countries, the financing of the needs of the countries of the South for the fight against climate change is largely insufficient. And so is the share provided by European Union (EU) countries, which is disproportionately made up of loans rather than grants.
A tax of 0.1%
In November 2022, COP27 approved the creation of a new fund dedicated to loss and damage, Loss and Damage Fund, to help countries in the South cope with the inevitable consequences of climate change. This important decision will remain completely virtual if massive and sustainable sources of funding are not quickly found to top up this new fund.
This is one of the key issues of the next COP28, but also of the summit for a new global financial pact, which is to be held in France on June 22 and 23, at the initiative of Emmanuel Macron and Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados.
In a report voted at the end of 2020, the European Parliament recalled that a tax of 0.1% levied on all financial transactions (TTF) would bring in 57 billion euros per year. On February 16, 2023, in a new report, the European Parliament urged heads of state and government to reach an agreement to effectively create this tax “before the end of June 2023”.
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