THE $100 BILLION QUESTION: WILL G20 LEADERS SHOW US THE MONEY?

ROME, October 29, 2021.— As leaders of the G20 meet in Rome, Avaaz "welcomed" them with a cheeky song underscoring the responsibility of rich nations to pay their fair share to support countries experiencing the worst impacts of climate change. An Italian ABBA cover band gathered in front of the Colosseum and went on a bus tour through Rome, presenting a version of the song "Money, money, money" along with cutouts of Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Scott Morrison, Boris Johnson and Mario Draghi, to push these developed nations to urgently pay the $100bn in climate finance per year promised since 2009.

This is a key test ahead of the Glasgow climate conference. Not delivering this money threatens trust and cooperation amongst the international community. The Delivery Plan presented last Monday by Canada’s Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Germany’s State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth projects that the $100bn goal will not be met until 2023, which leaves developing nations at huge risk of not being able to mitigate climate impacts or launch critical adaptation projects.

Oscar Soria, Avaaz campaign director, says : "G20 leaders have in their hands the opportunity and responsibility to make a final call to deliver the floor of $100 billion of financial support for climate mitigation and adaptation and to do that as soon as possible. While leaders should already be thinking of a new financial plan that goes beyond 2025, they are still struggling to meet agreements made in 2009. We cannot and should not accept half promises anymore, we need rich nations to head to Glasgow to build the international trust needed for actions to put us in the path of staying below 1,5°C warming."

“Rich countries need to stop saying there is no money for climate change protection. There’s plenty of money but it’s in the wrong hands and the wrong places. Consider the $5.2 trillion per year spent in fossil fuel subsidies or the $542 billion per year spent on agriculture and timber subsidies. This money is compromising our climate stability and our ecosystems and undermining our long-term economic health.”

Avaaz is calling on G20 leaders of developed nations to deliver financial commitments in full, including past shortfalls, to ensure the $100bn is met on average, and urging rich nations to commit to delivering $500bn over 5 years from 2020 to 2024, as suggested by climate-vulnerable countries. Avaaz is also calling on rich nations to deliver a balance between finance for adaptation and finance for mitigation.

For more information: e-mail global media team: media@avaaz.org;

FACTBOX : the fair share for key developed countries in the 100 billion finance

The United States / Biden: Where's the 32-49 USD billion per year? 12 years after the Obama-Biden administration's pledge to support low-income countries, we are still falling *tens of billions* short of delivering on that promise: will President Biden honor his words? To make COP26 a success, and truly "build back better", the US needs to pay its fair share of climate funding between $32-49 billion per year. President Biden’s latest climate funding commitments at the UN General Assembly are still far from what we need -- they need to be further tripled in order to meet our fair share of contributions. The US is the biggest historical contributor to the climate crisis and the biggest economy in the world that has mobilized *trillions of dollars* for the post-Covid19 recovery. To restore America’s image in the world, Biden needs to act with the same tenacity to honor their climate funding commitments.

Canada / Trudeau: Where's the 4.4-6.0 billion CAD per year? Canada must lead by example as the co-negotiators of the 100 billion delivery plan. Their own share of contributions is falling massively short. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can lead the way by committing to quadruple our current climate funding pledge, to meet a fair share range of at least 4.4-6.0 billion CAD per year. Canada’s recent doubling of its climate finance commitment to CAD 5.3bn over the next five years is still far from enough.

Australia / Morrison: Where's the 3.4-4.4 billion AUD per year? Australia is completely abdicating responsibility. Sydney should increase contributions by almost 15 times in order to provide our fair share of climate finance. There is still time for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to step up ahead of the Glasgow climate summit and announce a much higher pledge in the range of 3.4-4.4 billion AUD per year.

The host of this year’s climate talks: UK / Johnson: Where’s the 3.4-4.8 billion GBP per year? The United Kingdom has chosen to be in the spotlight of global climate policy by hosting the Glasgow summit. But higher-visibility comes with higher accountability: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that COP26 must be a 'turning point for humanity. To meet the gap towards $100 billion urgently, the UK needs to commit new and additional funding, and increase contributions by 50% to meet Britain’s full fair share (of 3.4-4.8 billion GBP per year). For the Glasgow talks to become a true turning point, this is the bare minimum to sustain this decisive decade with enough momentum to address the climate crisis. As the COP26 host, the UK has a central role to mobilize diplomatic efforts and ensure that every country is raising its ambition and contributions. To do so, the UK must lead by example and meet its fair share.

The host of this year’s G20 - Italy / Draghi : Where’s the 3.3-5.1 billion EUR per year? As host of the G20 summit in this historic year, Italy has a pivotal role to play and must lead by example. Yet Italy is falling tremendously short of our fair share of climate finance contributions - of 3.3-5.1 billion EUR per year. Prime Minister Draghi is famous for saving the Euro back in 2012 by promising to do “whatever it takes” to stop the European joint currency from falling apart. Now the world needs him to do whatever it takes to protect our climate. Where is Italian political will on the global stage when it is most needed? Prime Minister Draghi must do everything in his power to announce a higher pledge, in order to help meet the 2020-2025 shortfall and restore confidence. PM Draghi can also redouble diplomatic efforts to bring G20 economies along with us, and meet the remaining gaps to deliver 100 billion dollars per year immediately. This needs to be reflected in the G20 leaders' statement prominently