Hollande calls for stronger role of Green Climate Fund

French President Francois Hollande on Thursday said the United Nations financial mechanism Green Climate Fund (GCF) should play stronger role in helping developing countries trim global warming.

During a meeting with the GCF Executive Director Hela Cheikhrouhou, Hollande expressed hope that the fund would "get stronger and that new contributions should reinforce its means."

The talks between Hollande and Cheikhrouhou also focused on the progress in the fund's activities and structuring which "is an essential component and a catalyst for the mobilization of 100 billion US dollars per year from 2020," as agreed on in Copenhagen in 2009, the president's office said in a statement.

Under Copenhagen accord, the GCF was established to help developing countries to finance their energy transition schemes and cope with effects of climate change.

Its first aid plans for the most vulnerable states would be approved during the fund's three-day board meeting in Zambia in Oct. 2, the statement added.

An international gathering on climate change was scheduled in Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11. France's officials hope to reach a binding accord to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.
  Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
2/10/15