FROM THE FIELD
© Anna KÂri The EU Commission's proposal for a Climate Protocol to be negotiated at the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December will not protect the billions of poor people, who are the most exposed and will be most affected by the climatic changes to come. DanChurchAid and our partners in developing countries furthermore caution that the protocol will not put at brake on global warming. The EU proposal is far from fair to the poorest people on this planet. "All our own, very limited, funds already go towards combating the disasters caused by the climatic changes" says Dibalok Singha. He is in charge of the organisation Dushtha Shasthya Kendra, DSK, in Bangladesh, one of DanChurchAid's partners. Among other things DSK is working with emergency aid in the disasters caused by the climatic changes. "We are seeing far more cyclones and flooding as well as shortage in water supply. The wealthy countries have for years discharged greenhouse gases which have led to this situation" says Dibalok Singha. However the EU proposal for the Climate Protocol also contains some positive initiatives and especially some more innovative plans for how to finance the necessary adjustments and countermeasures of the climatic changes. But DanChurchAid's climate coordinator Mattias Söderberg criticizes the proposals and designates them as "far below target" compared to what the poorest countries need, if they are to prioritize the combat against poverty and fight for survival. Furthermore the proposal does not put the EU under the obligation of funding a fixed part of the expenses: "The proposals for which countries are to pay and how much, are far too loose and not concrete enough" warns Mattias Söderberg. Oxfam has estimated that at least € 34 billion are needed every year to subsidize the adjustments in the developing countries, of which EU should pay at least € 12 billion on top of the permanent aid. Furthermore the NGO's from the Global Climate Action Network, of which DanChurchAid is a member, demands that the members of EU should give aid in the region of € 40 billion for purer energy as well as € 20 billion to reduce the discharge caused by deforestation of developing countries.[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
