Funding remains a challenge for adaptation

Ramesh Jaura in In Depth News: UN's top climate change official Yvo de Boer has expressed the hope that the forthcoming informal negotiations August 10-14 in Bonn will give governments "a great opportunity to make further concrete and substantive progress on the key issues" that need to be resolved to reach an agreed outcome in Copenhagen in December.

One key issue is funding -- in particular for adaptation to climate change. Precisely the issue of how to successfully match national adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs) and funding remains a challenge, says a document posted on the website of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat.

"Current climate agreements do not provide binding commitments for adaptation funding. Funds available for adaptation through the GEF (Global Environment Facility) are relatively small, have been disbursed slowly, and will need to be increased substantially to make any meaningful contribution to climate change adaptation in developing countries," the UNFCCC says.

The document adds: The Least Developed Countries (LDCs) will be hoping for significant progress on adaptation at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen December 7-18. This includes more concrete funding commitments by industrialized nations for adaptation activities, especially for NAPA implementation, as well as improved access to funds.

…"In order to curtail the amount of adaptation needed in the future, they are also hoping that industrialized countries will take the lead in making a stronger and time-bound commitment to deep emission cuts," says the UNFCCC secretariat. The significance of this document is underlined by the fact that adaptation is one of the five key building blocks -- together with shared vision, mitigation, technology and financial resources -- needed for a strengthened future response to climate change.

German bank notes from 1923