Since 1991, the United Nations Global Environment Facility Trust has granted more than one billion euros (US$ 1.5 billion) to developing countries for action to combat global warming. An additional five billion euros (US$ 7 billion) has come from co-financing from bilateral agencies, recipient countries and the private sector.

DW-Radio’s Anja Kueppers talked to Maria Netto, the Program Officer at the UNFCCC’s Financial Co-operation Unit.

DW-Radio: Are multinational oil companies only financing renewable energy projects as a public relations stunt?

Maria Netto: I do think there is a very big change from this idea of only public relations because basically the companies have started seeing the advantage technologies can bring to them. Take the case of BP or Shell, they are not just investing in them for PR. They clearly say this publicly. They are investing in climate change because they see a comparative advantage of investing in clean technologies because one cannot just be based on fossil fuels.

Can you explain the kind of projects that UN funds are spent on?

The climate change framework, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in particular, has financing for projects that we call mitigation projects. The traditional mitigation projects are energy projects to reduce what we call CO2 emissions mainly. Also, it’s interesting that technologies for what we call the non-CO2 emissions like methane, for example, have also been developed more and more. We also have funds that are specifically addressing the issue of adaptation - adaptation meaning countries, in particular small and vulnerable countries affected by climate change, need to plan on how they will cope with climate change.

Do countries themselves decide on where the money will be spent or are they given funds and told "this is what you’ll spend it on"?

In principle, and it’s a principle in the convention and it’s one of the first guidances, the funds should be country-given so that countries should have a word to say on projects that are happening in their place. Of course, there are conditions on which funds are made available. In the case of GEF, because it’s a global environment facility, an important condition to give funds is that these funds have to have some global environment benefits. So, there are some conditions on which the projects can be approved but clearly these projects have to be the ones that the country agreed upon or has considered as important for itself.

Can you give me an idea about the kind of amounts of money that are being spent on climate change?

The global environment facility right now has a replenishment of funding for the next four years and about one million dollars has been allocated for climate change. And then what we have seen from the Clean Development Mechanisms is that we can calculate at least about ten billion dollars until 2012, only for the carbon value. This could mean that in both cases -- of the GEF one billion and the 10 billion of the CDM -- there is a value added afterwards, with possible co-financing. If there is co-financing, the investments could be even higher.

Is it enough or is more money needed?

The issue I don’t think is really ‘enough’, the issue is where the money should go. Climate change is linked with other activities, such as development activities and energy. The main challenge now is really how to better consolidate different efforts into one single effort and make sure that the funds are being allocated properly.

Is what you’re saying that you don’t actually need a lot of money to effectively combat climate change?

You do need a lot of money because the growth of developing countries cannot be denied and will continue. Given that historically these countries are not responsible for the emissions that happen today, one may need to think about additional incentives for these countries to move to move to a low-carbon economy. To do this, there is need for additional funds than what we have right now. So, yes, there is need for more funding, but yes it’s very important not to just say ‘more funding’. It’s important to understand what the funding is for and to have a very clear framework, so that investments and economic incentives can be there for governments in both industrialized and developing countries to move forward.