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French president urged to pledge more climate funds for SE Asia
French President Francois Hollande must lead developed nations in hammering out a global climate deal that will prepare poor nations for tackling impacts of climate change, a group of NGOs has said
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rench President Francois Hollande must lead developed nations in hammering out a global climate deal that will prepare poor nations for tackling impacts of climate change, a group of NGOs has said.
The ASEAN for a Fair, Ambitious and Binding Global Climate Deal (A-FAB Coalition) said Southeast Asia, as a region severely affected by climate change, would benefit immensely from a fair and ambitious climate treaty that could come out of Paris.
'We are calling on President Hollande as the chair of the global climate talks this December to put the interests of poor nations who will be affected most by climate change at the heart of the treaty," said Riza Bernabe, policy and research coordinator of Oxfam in Asia, a member of the A-FAB Coalition, Thursday.
A paper entitled Weathering Extremes released by A-FAB last year enumerated some of the worst climate-related disasters that have occurred in Southeast Asia in the past decade.
'Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,000 and displaced millions in the Philippines,' it reported.
Other extreme weather events cited by the report included Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, which killed more than 80,000, and the 2011 floods in Thailand that resulted in agricultural damage amounting to US$1.3 billion.
The paper projects that extreme weather events will get worse if no concrete actions to deal with climate change are taken. Losses will be substantial not only in terms of human lives but also in infrastructure and livelihood opportunities.
'We urge President Hollande and leaders of developed countries to commit to stand-alone financing for climate-change adaptation or projects which prepare for climate impacts, especially for poor farmers and fishers in Southeast Asia, who are the poorest of the poor,' said Bernabe.
'Rich nations like France must commit to adaptation funds, which should be separate from funds for mitigation, or projects to reduce carbon emissions,' he went on.
Climate-adaptation projects in agriculture include setting up local weather forecasting stations, providing risk insurance to smallholder farmers and adopting agro-ecological farming practices, among other things.
A study by the Asian Development Bank found that spending on adaptation in agricultural and coastal areas equivalent to 0.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) would lead to future benefits amounting to 1.9 percent of GDP, from avoiding climate impacts. (ebf)(++++)
