India joins UK, Australia to help poor nations combat climate change

The 24^th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta deliberated extensively on combating climate change and a number of nations pledged their financial assistance to vulnerable countries.

• India will provide $ 2.5 million for the vulnerable nations in the Commonwealth to help them introduce clean energy and reduce green-house gas emissions.
• Commonwealth and the Governments of India, Malta, Mauritius and Sri Lanka announced the new trade financing fund to help boost trade and investment flows in small countries.
• The voluntary fund is aimed at attracting start-up capital of $ 20 million. It will provide member countries facing trade challenges with the finance they need to increase their trade capacity.

Other countries contribution

• Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat unveiled a $ 1 billion Commonwealth Green Finance Facility to support environmental projects in the poor countries of the bloc.
• UK has committed 21 million pounds for disaster management and 5.5 million pound for the ocean-based economy.
• Australia has committed $ 1 million for a new Commonwealth idea – a Climate Finance Access Hub.
• Canada has pledged $ 2 billion assistance to help poor countries limiting green-house gas emission.

Commonwealth has 31 small states as its members out of the 53 countries and trade finance is very important to them.

• The fund will seek to stimulate lending by major banks to smaller banks in member states and reduce risk. The first phase of the fund will run over three years followed by a review.