$10 billion Pledge Mark for Green Climate Fund Surpassed, Secretary-General Says, Calling Initial Capitalization “Down Payment” on Action to Reduce Emissions

The following statement was issued today to the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General welcomes all pledges that have been made to date to the Green Climate Fund.  With the announcements of new pledges made at the United Nations Climate Conference in Lima, including from developing countries and the host country Peru, the $10 billion goal for the initial capitalization of the Fund has been surpassed.

The Secretary-General is confident this initial capitalization will enhance trust among parties who have been working together for the last two years to craft a new climate change agreement by next year.

The initial capitalization is a down payment not only on trust but also on action for reducing emissions and building climate resilience in developing countries.  This is just a beginning but it will spur further momentum to define a credible pathway to ramp-up climate finance to $100 billion a year by 2020.

The Secretary-General calls on all countries to deliver on their pledges as soon as possible and for more Governments to contribute to climate finance.