Developing countries have won a historic pledge from  develoepd nations that they will receive funds to repair the “loss and damage” incurred. This is the first time developing countries have received such assurances, and the first time the phrase “loss and damage from climate change” has been enshrined in an international legal document. Developing countries had been fighting hard for the concession at the fortnight-long UN climate change talks among 195 nations in Qatar, which finished after a marathon 36-hour final session.

The EU is the world’s largest provider of official development assistance and of climate finance to developing countries. At the Copenhagen climate change conference in 2009, developed countries pledged to provide a total of nearly US $30 billion in so-called ‘fast start’ climate finance over the three years 2010 to 2012 to help developing countries mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.  The EU and its Member States committed to provide €7.2 billion of this amount, or almost one third of the global total.

Information from Member States indicates that €7.1 billion has already been provided, and it is expected that the €7.2 billion pledge will be reached or even overachieved when Member State reports are updated and finalised next year. The European Commission pledged €150 million over the three years as its contribution, and has in fact provided €155 million.

The EU and its Member States will continue to provide climate finance to developing countries in 2013. The EU remains fully committed to the goal of mobilising US$ 100bn a year from developed countries by 2020 from public, private and innovative sources, in the context of meaningful mitigation action and transparency on implementation by developing countries.

The EHA is following these developing to ensure that European hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are included in the UBFCCC technology mechanism database that is being established.