Mr. Ross Fitzpatrick:

I will add briefly to the point the Senator raised about the debt that is owed to developing countries and any acknowledgement around that at the COP process. It is fair to say there has been a very concerted effort among wealthy countries to shift the blame or pass the buck, and this is the root of the contributor-based question. Rather than acknowledge the fact that there have been decades of unmet obligations delivered to developing countries, wealthy countries are asking why this country or that country is not paying, stating that they need to be included in this new, expanded list. I did not mention it earlier but it is worth pointing out that there has been some research done by the climate think-tank, ODI, which has shown that even if the list of climate finance contributors were to be expanded based on cumulative emissions and the financial capacity to pay, there are only around five or six countries in the world that would be added to that list. It does not include China. It includes South Korea, Qatar and Israel. The very idea that adding five to six countries to this list of contributors is going to make the difference is nonsense.

The real difference is going to be made by delivery of unmet targets.

I also wanted to touch on the dangers of some of aspects of private finance which the Senator raised. It is important to acknowledge that we are not saying that the entirety or totality of finance has to come from public finance. The vast majority of it should, and it should be grant based. We acknowledge there is a role for private finance. It is important to note two things on that. First, multiple studies have shown that private finance has proven deeply inefficient. It tends to flow to projects that can deliver return on investment, that is, mitigation-based projects. It is absolutely not suitable for adaptation, loss and damage. There are also questions around accountability.

It is countries, not private entities, which are parties to the UNFCCC. There is no way to determine how money from private entities is being tracked within the international climate regime. There are real issues that need to be grappled with.