Climate-Hit Nations Wait Years for $370 Million Fund to Deliver
A German-led program announced at United Nations climate talks in Egypt two years ago has deployed just a tiny share of funds to the climate vulnerable countries it’s seeking to help.
A woman carries a bundle of fodder along flooded water in Umerkot district in Sindh province, Pakistan, in September 2022. Floods triggered by torrential rains wrecked devastation, inundating a third of Pakistan, displacing more than half a million people and destroying cash-crops and communication infrastructure.
Photographer: Asim Hafeez/BloombergA €350 million ($370 million) program seeking to ease the financial burden of climate disasters for the world’s most vulnerable countries has dispersed only €5.2 million in two years, according to the managers of the fund.
The Global Shield was launched at the United Nations climate talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt with the support of the Group of Seven countries, led by Germany in 2022. Its bespoke approach to designing aid packages that fit a country’s needs is taking years.