TWN Info Service on Climate Change (Oct10/01)
07 October 2010
Third World Network

Dear friends and colleagues,

As governments get deep into negotiations on a new climate fund at the ongoing negotiations of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Tianjin, China, a letter was sent on 5 October to US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton from 5 senior members of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, all of them subcommittee chairs.

The letter strongly supports a UNFCCC fund that is designed within the UNFCCC, independent in management and governance from existing financial institutions (i.e., not multilateral development baks such as the World Bank that is a preferred option of developed countries at the negotiations), and with direct access. The letter calls for the establishment of such a fund by the time UNFCCC Parties meet for their annual conference in Cancun, Mexico, regardless of where other issues are at in the negotiations. It also points to precedents set by other funds, including the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund (because of direct access and governance) and the Montreal Protocol Fund (because it was established under the authority of Parties to the Protocol and is based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities).

We attach this timely letter for your information, as the Tianjin negotiations enter into the details of governance of the new climate fund.

With best wishes,
Third World Network

US Congressional Letter on Global Climate Fund