Essay by Eric Worrall
“…About 70% of that needs to come from the private sector…”
Q&A: How the UN Senior Champion on Climate Change of COP26 sees the world’s climate progress so far
November 4, 2022
Lucy Almond
Head of Strategic CommunicationsRainforest AllianceNigel Topping, United Nations Senior Champion on Climate Change for COP26, shares his views on where climate action is succeeding with the World Economic Forum.
According to Topping, an additional $2 trillion a year is needed in emerging and developing economies, excluding China, to effectively deal with climate change.
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What is the big picture of the money needed for a positive agenda – and who will deliver it?
Nigel Topping: This is about investing in higher productivity and job growth, so I reject the ‘who should come up with it’ framing. My question is: Who makes money if they solve problems figuring out how to structure profitable investments?
Under what conditions? It’s very complicated. But about $2 trillion more is needed each year in emerging and developing economies, excluding China. About 70% of that needs to come from the private sector. Let’s look at Africa, where the majority of the population is engaged in agriculture. There is a great need for investment in smallholder farmers, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For example, a really interesting startup in Nigeria is building solar-powered coolers that help reduce large amounts of food waste while moving vegetables in a hot and humid country. As well as investing in companies that service markets, we need to provide loans to the small and medium-sized businesses that are the backbone of the food systems in emerging markets. There will be a lot of focus on that at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
So yes, this is about investment from multinational partners, but mainly also from value chain participants and local companies. Remember, this is a growth story, so there is a reason to invest in changing the way it operates.”
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Read more: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/11/cop27-united-nation-climate-change-progress-nigel-topping/
At least they said “exclude China” when discussing who is supposed to receive the “investment”.
The fact is, of course, the reason poor nations are often their kleptocratic leaders constantly stealing all the cash. Giving cash rarely helps the recipient, unless you mean the personal bank accounts of corrupt elites who often run poor countries demanding distributions.
If you have any doubts about this, I recommend you read the Kenyan economist By James Shikwati “For God’s sake, please stop the aid”.
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