Why rich nations are feeling the heat on climate funding ahead of G7 summit

Boris Johnson has promised to use next month’s G7 summit to ‘secure a substantial pile of cash’ for poorer nations battling the climate crisis. Daisy Dunne examines why climate finance is an ever-pressing issue

Waves crash the shore as Super Typhoon Surigae moves close to the Philippines (Reuters)

In a speech made to other leaders on Thursday, Boris Johnson called on all rich nations to “put our money where our mouth is” when it comes to funding climate action.

As the host of both the upcoming G7 summit in June and a key set of climate talks in November, the UK is attempting to lead the charge on “climate finance” – a term for public or private funding aimed at helping countries to both tackle and adapt to rapidly rising emissions.

“Developed nations cannot stop climate change on their own, but if we want others to leapfrog the dirty technology that did so much for us, then we have a moral and a practical obligation to help them do so,” Mr Johnson told leaders at the opening session of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, a set of negotiations being held in the run up to Cop26, a major round of UN climate talks to be held in Glasgow in November.