28 June 2010: The European Commission released its Annual Report 2010 on the implementation of the EU’s development and external assistance policies in 2009, including climate financing.

According to the report, the EU intensified its cooperation and dialogue on climate change with developing partners in 2009, including through innovative funding modalities. The report points in particular to: the Global Climate Change Alliance, which received an allocation of €35 million to support poor countries most vulnerable to climate change, in particular least-developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS); fast-start funding of €2.4 billion annually for 2010-2012, to assist developing countries in adapting to climate change and in moving to low-carbon strategies; and the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund with an allocation of €15 million in 2009, to pool public and private funds for risk sharing and co-funding in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The report also notes that climate financing is a new key area where the need to ensure coherence with development objectives should be a political priority. [EU Press Release] [The Report]