The climate funding aims to help countries protect their people from climate change. But WaterAid‘s analysis shows that some of the poorest nations in the world get just $1 annually to help cope with the impacts that arise from the climate crisis. All this happens, although the rich countries promise to offer assistance.

Climate finance is meant to help the developing world cut on greenhouse gases and protect their people from the consequences that come with climate breakdown. This funding forms an integral part of the Paris agreement.

The rich nations pledged over ten years ago to give £100bn a year to the poor by 2020. But, it appears like some of these commitments are not being met.

A week ago, the United Kingdom published its strategy for giving climate finance as part of its presidency of the Cop26, this year’s vital UN climate summit. The summit will be held in November 2020 in Glasgow.

Nevertheless, no new funding was announced, and no data is yet to be published, indicating whether the pledges from ten years ago are likely to be met in 2020.

Climate Finance Analysis

WaterAid’s climate finance analysis shows that the existing funding is not reaching the most impoverished nations that are likely to be the worst affected by climate change.

Half of all the countries get below $5 per person annually in climate finance, according to the charity report by WaterAid.

Yemen got $1.17 per person annually between 2010 and 2017. This country is ranked 29th as the world’s most vulnerable to climate breakdown impacts. Sudan got $1.33 despite being seventh on the list.

Angola coming at 50th got $1.58 per person over the same period while the Central African Republic got $1.61 per person, although it is ranked 16th the list of the most vulnerable countries. The chief executive of WaterAid, Tim Wainwright, said:

“Billions of people around the world are already living with the impact of the climate crisis, whether through flooding in the UK, bushfires in the US and Australia, or sea-level rise in coastal areas. But most of the suffering brought about by climate change does not make the headlines. It is poor and vulnerable communities, who have done virtually nothing to create this situation, finding it harder and harder each year to find enough clean water to live.”

Spending on water challenges takes a low priority in climate finance, although water is at the core of the climate crisis. In that context, Ethiopia got $0.39 per person per year for water and sanitation, while Chad received $0.19 per person.

The report discovered almost $30 billion annually was disbursed by the rich nations to the developing world to combat the effects of climate breakdown.

The funding aims to help these vulnerable nations to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions effects, and it may attract private sector funding. The poorest countries have the lowest levels of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere globally.