The richest countries in the world will likely be at least three years late to make good on their promise to provide developing countries with $100 billion annually to help reduce climate pollution and adapt to (and lessen) the impact of climate-fueled disasters ravaging their countries. “The $100 billion of climate finance is not only a lifeline to poor and vulnerable communities on the frontline of a climate crisis they did not cause, it’s also the bare minimum that rich countries need to do to hold up their end of the bargain at COP26,” Mohamed Adow, director the Nairobi think tank Power Shift Africa, told The Guardian. The report published Monday could only express “confidence” that the nations that built their wealth in large part by extracting resources from what is now the developing world, would be able to fulfill their pledges in 2023.

“It’s utterly shameful,” Adow added. “Poor nations will not be conned and the leaders of the developed world need to pull their finger out and get this money on the table if COP26 is going to be a success.” (The Guardian, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Climate Home, Washington Post $, Axios, Politico Pro $, New York Times $, The Hill, Reuters)