International advocacy organisation Global Citizen has called on rich nations to release an outstanding $16.7bn (R300bn) of the committed $100bn in financing for lower income countries.

Global Citizen co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans said on Tuesday “our world needs urgent change. Outdated global financial systems are perpetuating the conditions that keep vulnerable countries and their citizens trapped in the cycle of extreme poverty”.

The organisation will launch an environmental campaign in Paris in June, intended to lobby millions of people around the world to take action, raise their voices and demand urgent changes from governments, multilateral development banks and major corporations.

The “Power Our Planet” initiative seeks to push for the delivery of billions in dollars committed to climate financing for lower income countries and transfer of billions through International Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing rights from wealthy countries to poor countries, increase foreign aid budgets and enact global carbon emissions taxes.

According to Global Citizen, corporations should commit to join the UN's “Race-to-Zero” by setting science-based targets, publish time-bound action plans for climate transitions, and make transformative investments for a lower carbon transition in emerging economies.

“Increased access to financing would help bolster governments’ ability to resist climate change by, for example, helping 1.5-million farmers in Zambia withstand climate disasters such as droughts and floods, protecting 1.8-million hectares of land in Ghana by 2030, ending deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 2030 and strengthening the resilience of national electric grids in island nations such as Antigua and Barbuda to withstand category 5 hurricanes,” said Global Citizen.

Power Our Planet aims to pave the way for urgent funding to be delivered throughout the year, including at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, in September, the Global Citizen Festival during the UN General Assembly in New York City in September. And the IMF and World Bank meetings in October, and culminating at COP28 in Dubai, UAE, in November.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the world needs more solidarity. “Crises are multiplying and the number of those who place their hope in peace and multilateralism will only grow if we, as a global community, demonstrate that we are there to help the most vulnerable.

“Because inequality and poverty are the grounds of today's and tomorrow's wars. Because there will be no climate transition worldwide if we don't fight for more justice and equity. Halfway to the sustainable development objectives we need a new financial pact between all countries so the world of tomorrow is more united,” said Macron.

An alliance of world leaders representing Global North and Global South countries has joined the Power Our Planet campaign alongside Global Citizen. They include Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, supported by Macron of France, Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone, Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain, José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor Leste, Biman Prasad, Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji, the government of Ghana, the government of Namibia, the government of Zambia and the Alliance of Small Island States.

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