Mari Pangestu, a former World Bank official, revealed that developing nations will need more than $1 trillion on an annual basis to make significant progress in climate transition.
“The estimate is like $1 [trillion] to $3 trillion a year for developing countries to be able to transition,” Pangestu told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia”.
She elaborated that the lack of funding made it difficult for those countries to lower their high carbon emissions and shift to clean energy.
Pangestu added that this led to tensions between developing nations and the developed world, which are pushing for more progress in climate-related issues.
“This debate is going to continue unless developed countries can see that this is about development and climate — not just about climate,” Pangestu said. “And that has been the source of tension. You can’t separate the two,” she added, underlining the “keyword is actually — transition.”
“How do you transition from the high emission now to clean energy? It will require us to have resources,” the official continued. “This was “part of the bone of contention,” for the lack of progress made in the recently concluded Group of 20 climate ministers meeting in India, Pangestu said.
Meanwhile, India’s climate change minister Bhupender Yadav, who chaired the meeting, acknowledged there had been “some issues about energy, and some target-oriented issues.”
