Saudi Arabia has joined the US and Venezuela in refusing to sign off on a draft proposal for a US$100 billion (Dh367bn) fund intended to help developing nations to combat climate change.
The kingdom has said it would not pay into the fund, while the US and a coalition of Latin American nations have voiced concerns about the draft's sturdiness and its effects on their ease of accessing resources.
Even developing nations that would be the fund's beneficiaries have questioned who should be in charge of doling out the cash and how the money should be spent.
"We think the fund will be approved, but whether it will be an empty shell is still to be seen," Mohammad Al Sabban, Saudi Arabia's chief climate negotiator, told Dow Jones Newswires. "We will not be putting money into the fund."
The wrangling over the fund reflects the divisive nature of climate change initiatives.
Negotiators from nearly 200 nations are in South Africa this week to try to find a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, the binding agreement between 37 countries to cap greenhouse gas emissions that expires next year.
It has enabled millions of dollars from rich nations to be funnelled to poorer ones that earn carbon credits for cutting their emissions.
Although countries including the UAE are officially backing an extension of the treaty, privately, negotiators predict it is unlikely to happen.
The US has never signed the protocol, and Russia, Japan and Canada have already said they would not commit to extending the agreement.
The UAE and South Korea, among others, have come out in favour of a strategy called Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action, in which nations set targets and find funding on their own - a shift from the international cooperation that defined the Kyoto treaty.
The Green Climate Fund, which was drafted last month so it could be fast-tracked for approval at this week's talks, is seen as a way to fund such national programmes, or even strengthen Kyoto.
"All members of the committee wanted to design a thoroughbred racehorse, and we ended up with a camel," Burhan Gafoor, Singapore's chief climate negotiator, told Bloomberg News.
"What we have may not be elegant, but it's balanced and it's sturdy.
Resistance to the draft arises in part from a provision that it be run for the first three years by the World Bank.
Another issue is that countries might have to open themselves up to more scrutiny to qualify for funding, whereas under the current system only a single project needs to be audited so it can earn carbon credits.
"Generally, there's scepticism about the World Bank taking a leading role," said an official from a Gulf nation, who wished to remain anonymous.
"Developing countries and recipient countries should have a fair say in the governance of the fund."
ayee@thenational.ae
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Mercedes V250 Avantgarde specs
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THE SPECS
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Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures: Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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