The European Council of 11 December concluded with pledges by the Member States concerning “fast start” funding to combat climate change. This funding is aimed at the developing countries in order to kick start the investment needed for climate mitigation in the next three years.

These contributions are voluntary, based on the budget situations of the different Member States. In total, the Member States pledged 2.4 billion euros per year for 2010-2012, or a total of 7.2 billion, including 1.65 billion euros from the United Kingdom and 1.26 billion from France.

In September, the European Commission published a communication on the estimated funding needed for climate mitigation and adaptation in developing countries, along with the share provided by the different mechanisms (developing country contributions, public finance and the carbon market). Of a total estimated amount of 100 billion euros per year by 2020, the Commission calculated that the share of public finance could represent between 22 and 50 billion euros, and Europe’s share between 2 and 15 billion euros. Furthermore, it estimated that the fast-start financing needed would be in the range of 5 to 7 billion euros per year for 2010-2012. Thus, the figure announced at the end of the European Council is in line with the September communication. However, it is not clear to what extent the funding announced is truly additional in relation to the existing amounts of development assistance. Relatively speaking, these pledges remain very modest, especially when compared to the global amount of ODA, which stands at 120 billion euros per year, and in the sense that the developed countries are expected to double these amounts dedicated specifically to development assistance. If we include the estimated amounts aimed more specifically at climate change (100 billion euros per year), developed country public financing efforts will have to be tripled by 2020.