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By Indi Mclymont-Lafayette – CNS Contributor
PARIS, France. December 15 2015 – The Adaptation Fund has got pledges from four European countries to the tune of US$75 million for financing projects around the world.
The pledges — made by Germany, Sweden, Italy and the Walloon region of Belgium — were announced at a special event at the recently concluded United Nations Climate Talks in Paris, France.
“That is very welcome news as it means that there will be more funding for projects,” said outgoing Adaptation Fund Board Member and head of Jamaica’s Meteorological Office, Jeffery Spooner. “It is also good news for the Caribbean as we have a concept now before the Board.”
In October, the Adaptation Fund Board approved a US$20,000.00-grant for the development of a regional project in three islands — Jamaica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic — focusing on local adaptation response to climate change and early warning information for the Caribbean.
The grant will allow for the full development of the project proposal for the three countries but the Fund will still have to allocate funds for the proposal itself. In 2015, the Board has been pushing to identify funding for the projects in the pipeline as its primary source of funding from the carbon emissions market has been declining.
In Paris, Germany’s pledge of $50 million and the additional $25 million from the other three countries will mean that the Fund is very close to meeting its US$80 million per year goal that it set in 2013.
The Adaptation Fund helps vulnerable communities in developing countries like the Caribbean to adapt to climate change impacts, such as longer droughts, stronger hurricanes, heat waves and unpredictable weather changes.
At the same time, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Christiana Figueres added her voice to the call for increased support for the Adaptation Fund.
“The announcements at the UN climate change conference by Germany, Italy, Sweden and Wallonia now put us in striking distance of that 80 million U.S. dollars aim. I would call on others to come forward with the final support needed in order to register yet another success here in Paris towards the overall goal of a low emission, resilient world,” said Figueres.
Adaptation issues were a major part of the UN climate talks as the 192 countries sought to define the new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2020. The role and sustainability of the Adaptation Fund was also discussed.
