Switzerland’s climate finance: What’s a ‘fair share’? It depends who you ask

Climate funding for developing nations dominates the COP29 agenda in Azerbaijan. A recent study suggests Switzerland is already contributing beyond its "fair share", yet environmental groups like Greenpeace and Alliance Sud see things differently. When it comes to helping poor countries deal with the climate crisis, Switzerland is doing more than it should. At least that’s according to a recent study by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a London-based think tank that focuses on international development and humanitarian issues. $100 billion – that's how much industrialised nations pledged in 2020 to funnel every year to low- and middle-income countries in order to fight climate change. Switzerland is one of 12 countries that have contributed to this goal with a “fair share”, or even gone beyond it, according to ODI. The fair share is based mainly on two key principles: historical responsibility, i.e., cumulative greenhouse gas emissions and economic capacity. The money goes ...