Canada on Friday pledged nearly $2 billion (2.65 billion Canadian dollars) over five years to help developing countries fight climate change, just days before a major Paris conference on the environment.
“Canada is committed to ambitious action on climate change and is focused on the economic opportunities of our environment and creating the clean jobs of tomorrow,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office said in a statement, AFP reported.
Trudeau was participating in a Commonwealth summit in Malta before heading to the French capital for the UN-sponsored climate conference.
The aid aims to help the world’s poorest countries “transition to low-carbon economies that are both sustainable and more resilient,” Trudeau’s office said
The Canadian pledge is a “substantial increase. It represents a doubling of Canada’s previous climate announcement,” Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said during a teleconference.
McKenna noted that the funds would go to specific projects that have yet to be named.
The pledge is part of Canada’s commitments under the 2009 Copenhagen Accord under which developed countries promised annual payments of $100 billion to finance developing countries climate policies until 2020, when the future Paris agreement goes into effect.
“Canada is back and ready to play its part in combating climate change, and this includes helping the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the world adapt,” Trudeau said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Oxfam reported that unless developed nations increase their climate pledges, developing countries, such as Iran, will need an additional $270 billion every year to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
