European Commission proposals about how poor countries should be
helped financially to deal with climate change show a ‘serious lack of
ambition’ says Christian Aid.

The Commission said that EU should provide poor countries with
between €2 -15bn annually for both adapting to climate change, and
reducing emissions. Christian Aid and other climate justice campaigners say the
figure should be €35bn a year.

Nelson Muffuh, advocacy coordinator at Christian Aid, said:
‘If this figure is accepted, the goal of limiting global warming to 2^oC
becomes ever more remote.

‘Pollution
from rich countries is already having devastating effects in developing
countries, through droughts, floods and tropical storms. Rich countries have to
face up to their historic responsibility for the emissions that have caused
climate change.’

Christian Aid also criticised the EC’s proposals as relying
too heavily on the carbon market to raise the money. The market, it said, does
not guarantee reliable financial flows and has earlier proved to disadvantage
the poorest nations because of a lack of interest in investing in those
countries.

The charity also attacked an annex to the commission’s
proposal which said some of the money could come from official development
assistance (ODA).

‘This is alarming,’ said Muffuh. ‘In the short
term they seem to want to rely totally on ODA for adaptation support which
threatens the poverty eradication objectives of developing countries by
diverting already meagre resources.

‘For the crucial UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen
in December to stand any chance of success, industrialised countries must
strongly commit to providing substantial funding to cover the full incremental
costs for sustainable development and adaptation to climate change in
developing countries.

‘Many poorer nations are disappointed at the lack of EU
leadership. After decades of broken aid promises, the trust gap between rich
and poor countries, which it is essential to bridge if we are to counter
climate change, simply widens.

One positive aspect was the EC’s proposal that a specific
climate fund be set up under the UN Convention. ‘This is a good
initiative that we would like to see elaborated further since it would not be a
donor controlled fund,’ said Muffuh.                                                   

Tags: aid, christian, climate change, poverty

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