"The fate of billions of dollars of promised funding from rich countries to help the developing world adapt to climate change will be discussed on Thursday in Geneva, at the first meeting of the UN's Green Climate Fund."

"The fund is meant to be the biggest single funding route for the $100bn (£63bn) that developed countries have pledged should flow to poor nations each year by 2020, to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of global warming.

But key decisions – such as where the fund should be headquartered, who should run it, how it will operate and how it can raise funds – will be delayed for months.

On Thursday morning, the initial meeting, delayed by months as governments procrastinated, began with the election of a developing and a developed country co-chair. These were the South African representative Zaheer Fakir and Australia's Ewen McDonald, who had been favourite to win the post. They will jointly chair the fund for its first year. Fakir is head of international relations and governance at the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, while McDonald is deputy director general of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)."
   
Fiona Harvey reports for the Guardian August 23, 2012. [2]