SI pushes for Adaptation Fund beyond 2020

By PRIESTLEY HABRU

In Bonn, Germany

 

SOLOMON Islands and other Pacific Islands are pushing for climate change Adaptation Fund to continue when the Kyoto Protocol lapses in 2020.

This is one of the main items Pacific Islands’ delegates are negotiating at the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) currently underway in Bonn, Germany.

“Solomon Islands and other Pacific Islands countries are negotiating for the Adaptation Fund under continue when it the Kyoto Protocol lapses and the Paris Agreement supersedes it in 2020,” said Mr Exley Taloiburi, who is the Climate Change Finance Adviser for the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS).

He explained that the Pacific Islands delegates wanted to change specific word like ‘shall’ instead of ‘should’ in the clauses of the Paris Agreement.

“In order to allow the continuity of the climate adaptation fund to address our climate change challenges,” Taloiburi said.

He noted that climate change adaptation is Pacific Islands’ priority issue and not reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or mitigation.

“The Pacific Islands countries put together only emits 0.03 percent of GHG so it’s not an issue for us.

“The global finance allocation is such that only 8 percent goes to adaptation whilst 92 percent to mitigation. So there is a huge mismatch and that is why we demanded that the adaptation fund to continue post 2020 when it will come into force.

“We see this fund as the only dedicated fund to support concrete adaptation projects under UNFCCC,” Taloiburi said.

Solomon Islands which have benefited from this fund under the Strogem Waka Lo Community Fo Kaikai (SWoCK) which aimed at Enhancing Resilience of Communities in Solomon Islands to the Adverse Effects of Climate Change in Agriculture and Food Security.

The five year project which began in April 2011 was allocated US$5,533,500 that to strengthen ability of communities in Solomon Islands to make informed decision and manage likely climate change driven pressures on food production and management systems

Meanwhile, Taloiburi said apart from Solomon Islands; Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands and Samoa have also benefited from this international fund that finances projects and programs aimed at helping developing countries to adapt to the harmful effects of climate change.

Negotiations at the COP23 will end today before heads of government that are parties to the UNFCCC adopt the outcome of this annual climate change summit at the end of the week.

Poland is set to host COP24 in 2018.

Discover more from Theislandsun

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading