Developed nations say they can deliver $100bn climate fund by 2023

Developed nations are confident they can reach their goal of handing over $100 billion a year to poorer countries to tackle climate change by 2023, three years later than originally targeted, an official plan said on Monday.

The plan on how to reach the goal, prepared by Canada and Germany ahead of the United Nations COP26 climate summit in Scotland, said developed countries needed to do more and complained that private finance had not lived up to expectations.

Climate finance is a crucial issue for the summit, which is aiming for more ambitious country commitments to limit warming. But the failure to meet the $100 billion goal by 2020, an objective that was set in 2009, is a symbol of broken past promises that could undermine trust and complicate efforts to set new goals for ramping up climate aid.

The authors of the 12-page plan said they expected developed countries to make significant progress towards the $100 billion goal in 2022 and were confident it would be met in 2023.

"The data also gives us confidence that we will likely be able to mobilize more than US$100 billion per year thereafter," the plan said.

Environmental groups say this is not nearly enough. African nations believe the financing should be scaled up more than tenfold to $1.3 trillion per year by 2030, a key African climate negotiator told Reuters this month.

The COP26 summit begins on Oct 31 and ends about two weeks later. It is being held in the Scottish city of Glasgow.