$US10billion financing fund not enough for climate change mop-up: AOSIS

Cherelle Jackson, Environment Weekly, Climate Pasifika Friday 11 December, 2009: COPENHAGEN - The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is calling on rich countries to invest much more than than the US$10 billion on the table so far tagged for immediate financing for small island countries adaptation needs. Speaking at the launch of the AOSIS official draft proposal to the negotiations, AOSIS chair Ambassador Dessima Williams of Grenada expressed dismay at the numbers put on the table by the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
"We did not come here for $10 billion dollars."
Williams said the amount was far too low and would do little for small islands mitigation and adaptation efforts in the next five years.
The Chair of AOSIS called on European leaders currently meeting in Brussels to aim high.
 "When we talk about adequate levels of financing think about the Phillipines, think about the water loss in Kiribati, what will it cost to give people a guarantee of clean water in every country in the 21st century. Is it $10 billion dollars? No. So we are clear that the figures have to be raised and we welcome all the negotiators including EU for putting more ambitious figures on the table."

"I want to send a message to the negotiators in Brussels, don't leave the table until you have put down figures that are commenserate to the level of the threat, figures that have been started by United Nations Development Programme who knows us well, at $86 billion dollars. Figures that I think the Prime Minister of Australia had proposed and still propose, as high as $250 billion."

At the meeting EU leaders decided to contribute up to 30 percent of the total $30 billion short term financing.
Spokesman for UNFCCC Yvo de Boer says $10 billion should be sufficient for immediate financing of adaptation and mitigation needs in developing countries.
"I have been talking about 10 billion dollars a year, that is $30 billlion over three years, that is sufficient to provide for adaptation needs of developing countries."
De Boer said other developed countries have not put forward offers, but depending on their decisions it could make a difference to the overall contribution to immediate financing.
The estimated cost of climate change before 2012 according to UNFCCC is over US$200 billion.
De Boer says although the $30 billion over the next three years is sufficient, more needs to be invested in the long term.
"This is not enough in the long term stance, we need more than $100 billion for longer term. We have to see serious numbers on the table to deal with future of mitigating the effects of climate change."
According to a climate change financing report by UNFCCC, additional investment and financial flows in 2030 which will be needed to address climate change may amount to 0.3 to 0.5% of global domestic product in 2030 and 1.1 to 1.7% of global investment in 2030.
The same report suggests additional investment and financial flows for adaptation in developing countries at USD28 to 67 billion. But AOSIS demands that rich countries pay back their climate debts by contributing to a fund to assist developing countries adapt and mitigate. In the proposal submitted today AOSIS proposes that developed countries provide new, additional and predictable financial resources to support enhanced action on mitigation and adaptation in all developing countries.AOSIS says that the provision of financial resources shall be guided by the principles of the Convention and the priorities of developing countries that are Party to the Kyoto Protocol with close attention paid to vulnerable developing countries.