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Climate change money sought by coastal nations
Mexico City News.Net
Thursday 4th December, 2008
Climate change is already drowning homes of people in coastal areas, especially in the developing world.
The money available to them from the international community to adapt to a new life is less than a percent of what the UN says will be needed.
And now countries are bickering over who will administer this small Adaptation Fund and who will be paid from it.
About 9,000 delegates from 186 countries, over 400 NGOs and dozens of UN organisations attending the summit of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poland, want to start the Adaptation Fund to combat climate change by the end of next year.
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer pointed out Thursday that starting the fund immediately was a must as climate change impacts are already happening and are going to increase.
He said: “Food production, water, health, all are being impacted. Himalayan glaciers are melting already. Developing countries are especially vulnerable and will be the hardest hit.”
The UN has estimated that developing countries will need at least $86 billion a year to adapt to the climate change that is being caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases.
Meanwhile, representatives of industrialised and developing countries spent most of Thursday arguing over who would administer the little money that would now be available for this fund.
Industrialised countries want it to be managed by the Global Environment Facility of the World Bank, a point made most strongly at the meeting by a delegate from New Zealand.
On the other hand developing countries - led by the Association of Small Island States, the ones most vulnerable to sea level rise want the fund to be administered by a UN organisation.
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Comments on this story
Anonymous
12-04-08, 08:35 PM |
Climate change money sought by coastal nations
Firstly, where is all the money supposed to come from.
Second, a fistful of money for those who live virtualy “on the beach or on the water” is money down the drain, they are not going to use it to better them selves, just a nice spend up and than stand there demanding more,
Thirdly, by crowding for living space so close to the dangerzone, they have put themselves in “harms way”, moving them lock-stock and barrel to higher ground will not work either, the people there already don’t want hide nor hair from them.
Four: the water level is going to rise fund or no fund, it is already far too late to stop it.
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