Ahead of COP 26, UN criticises world leaders for failing to secure $100bn deal on climate finance

With hardly five months left for the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the UNFCCC at Glasgow, UN warns world leaders for failing to secure a deal of $100 billion a-year by 2020 to help poor nations combat climate change.

Patricia Espinosa,former foreign minister of Mexico and current lead in UN on climate policy told The Guardian that although advances had been made at the G7 meeting in Cornwall last weekend, no serious progress had been made yet for honouring past commitments to find $100bn (£72.5bn) a year to aid developing countries invest in green technologies and help them reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

The UN climate conference which are to be held on 31 October in Glasgow, UK is aimed to work with all world leaders to address climate change and increase climate ambition, build resilience and lower emissions.

Moreover, Glasgow will also be the first opportunity to assess the impact of the promises made by nations in Paris in 2015 to work towards limiting average rise in temperature to less than 1.5C. The summit also plans to implemented fresh measures to avert global catastrophe.

Though G7 gave some hope regarding taking the developing nations to the driver seat in cutting emissions before COP 26, Espinosa expressed her disappointment as the commitment to mobilise the $100bn seems 'vague' now.

A lack of clarity about how much money wealthier nations would be willing to give, is delaying the whole process when many around the world are already at the brink, said Rachel Kyte, who is dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University in Massachusetts, and a former UN climate envoy.

In the light of ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it is not clear whether the summit would be held with all delegates attending in person, or whether it might be staged partly or wholly in a virtual format.