Climate change: Africa fund vital

Daily Nation (Kenya): The creation of a special Africa fund is critical if the continent is to adapt to the negative effects of climate change, a Kenya environmentalist said Thursday. The country’s National Environmental Management Authority director Dr Muusya Mwinzi said the continent was likely to lose out greatly if it didn’t push for the creation of this fund.

“This is the only golden opportunity for negotiators in the continent to speak with one voice and to push for the creation of this fund. If we lose this chance, then it will be a very long time for us to get such an opportunity," said Dr Mwinzi, who is attending the Climate Change talks in Bangkok, Thailand.

“If they don't push for it, they will simply miss out on the finances and by extension the technology that will aid them in curbing the negative effects of climate change. "This will expose them to the negative effects of climate change that have already started hitting us.”

Government delegates are meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on the penultimate round of climate change negotiations ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December, at which a comprehensive international climate change deal is to be sealed.

…On Thursday, Dr Mwinzi told the Daily Nation that the country’s position on climate change had always remained the same; that rich countries must provide adequate financial resources for adaptation, mitigation, technology transfer and reduce deforestation….

The Kerio River in Kenya, shot by Rainier5, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License