BEIJING: Establishing a fund to help poor countries tackle climate change will be"the biggest obstacle" during United Nations talks to try to curb global warming that begin in Glasgow on Oct 31, a Chinese environmental official said on Wednesday .
Richer countries agreed in 2009 to establish a US$100 billion per year fund to help transfer technologies and minimise climate risks in the developing world, but progress has been slow. Alok Sharma, president of the COP26 conference, said this week that he hoped the fund would be made available in 2023, three years later than planned.
"Doubt about whether developed countries will support developing countries coping with climate change, or simply pass their emission reduction responsibilities to developing countries, has become the biggest obstacle to the ongoing progress of this multilateral process," Ye Min, Vice-Minister of Ecology and Environment, said.
Speaking at a press briefing in Beijing, Ye said that the fund was related to"mutual political trust" as well as the practical ability of poorer nations to take action against climate change, and the COP26 meeting in Glasgow needed to"make arrangements".