MOSCOW, September 20 (RIA Novosti) - The United States will not contribute to a UN fund aimed at helping struggling countries cope with climate change despite UN calls on rich countries to do so, The Guardian reported Sunday.
"We are putting a lot of pressure for them to do it at the summit on the 23rd. I know the United States is not going to commit because I've asked," Mary Robinson, UN envoy and former Irish president, was quoted by The Guardian as saying.
The UN has been calling upon wealthy countries to make yearly contributions of $10 billion to $15 billion to the Green Climate Fund, which would amount to $100 billion in donations per year by 2020. Germany is the only country to have significantly contributed to the fund so far, The Guardian reported.
"We must have a commitment on the Green Climate Fund. It has to be capitalized to a minimum of $10bn and hopefully between $12 billion and $15 billion," Robinson told The Guardian.
According to the newspaper, US President Barack Obama is set to address the UN summit on climate change on September 23, where he will instead seek to promote rules for cutting carbon pollution from power plants.
Poor countries will suffer the most due to climate change even though they have had little to no role in causing it, The Guardian reported. The Marshall Islands is just one of the countries to experience the devastating effects of climate change.
