The push to bring up coastal and ocean issues at the global climate talks in Copenhagen in December has gained strong momentum at the World Ocean Conference (WOC), with the Global Environment Fund (GEF) voicing its support.
The GEF urged all countries to draw up concepts and get in line with proposals to get the issues included as priorities in the global effort to tackle climate change.
“It’s critical for your ministries responsible for coasts and oceans to work with your national negotiators to get our coastal and ocean issues on the agenda of the climate change subsidiary bodies’ preparatory meetings before Copenhagen,” Al Duda, senior adviser at the GEF’s International Waters Program, said Wednesday.
Thursday’s ministerial-level meet-ing at the WOC is expected to come up with an agreement to get the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to acknowledge the role of oceans as an alternative in reducing emissions.
As the WOC initiator, Indonesia hopes the new global commitment on climate change, expected to be agreed in December to replace the Kyoto Protocol, will recognize coastal and ocean issues, thus opening access to climate change mitigation and adaptation funds currently managed by GEF.
Duda said the scale of resources needed to deal with climate change was unprecedented, up to US$1.5 trillion a year according to World Bank estimates.
“Most funding will go toward mitigation efforts. But much, perhaps hundreds of millions, may be needed for adaptation,” he said.
“Two months ago, the European Union estimated $68 million would be needed annually by developing countries to adapt. The G77 says it will exceed $100 million annually.”
He added it was important for developing countries to get in line from now to produce proposals for the new adaptation funds.
“The first moves are the ones that will get the money, not the ones that wait for Copenhagen,” Duda said.
“Countries should get in touch with one of our 10 agencies to get in line for GEF funding or climate investment funds from the World Bank and its regional development banks.”
The GEF currently manages climate change funds of $950 million climate annually, $50 million of which is allocated for adaptation. Since its establishment in 1991, the GEF has provided $8.3 billion in funding for projects to improve the global environment, including $1.1 billion in grants for its international waters program.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) principal climate change specialist David McCauley said the mobilization of climate change funds relied largely on countries’ initiative to come up with proposals.
The ADB has allocated initial funding of $40 million to combat the impacts of climate change,
$20 million of which is for clean energy, $10 million for adaptation funds, $5 million for land use management and $5 million for cross-cutting support.
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