Funding remains key to combating climate change: envoy

France's climate change envoy said here on Tuesday that access to funding, especially for developing countries, remains key factor to combating climate change.

Laurence Tubiana made the remarks following meeting with the Moroccan Minister for Environment Hakima El Haite.

She said the acceleration of acquiring more access to funding, under Paris Agreement on climate change, will be one of the major challenges to the 22nd Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22), slated in November in Marrakech, Morocco.

Around 10 billion U.S. dollars are already available out of the 100 billion dollars expected to be raised per year by 2020 under the framework of the Green Climate Fund, Tubiana said, adding that everyone is putting pressure on the release of the funding ahead of the COP22.

"Marrakech will be the ideal occasion to step up... financing by countries that are signatories to this agreement," she added.

Tubiana said she is "very reassured" by the COP22 preparations, hailing the mobilization of the Moroccan government, businesses, local authorities and civil society. Endit