Germany pledges to double climate financial support to developing countries

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that Germany would increase its financial support to developing countries for addressing climate change.

By 2020, Germany's financial support in the regard would be doubled compared to 2014.

In a speech in the annual Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin, Merkel said financial support was a core element that "will be decisive for success or failure" of the next United Nations climate conference in Paris where a new global climate agreement is set to be reached.

She said developing countries would not be able to face challenges of climate change and to shift to climate friendly development path alone. Developed countries, which contributed to global warming, had obligation to help those who still need development.

In 2009, developed countries pledged to support developing countries with 100 billion U.S. dollars per year from 2020 for addressing climate change. Merkel said, there was still a gap from the target, and a road map to closing the gap must be found, adding that her country would take its share.

In previous rounds of UN climate negotiations, financing was one of the key issues that prevent developed and developing countries from reaching consensus.

Developing countries accused developed countries of not meeting their pledges and failed to provide sufficient funds as required by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In a joint statement, Merkel and visiting French President Francois Hollande said both countries "are determined to make every effort to achieve an ambitious, comprehensive and binding UN climate deal end of the year in Paris." Endit