Edinburgh, 21 November 2005 (Agence Europe) - A week ahead of the start of the International conference of Montréal on climate change, the socio-economic impact and human cost of natural disasters, which are hitting most of the ACP countries (Africa/Caribbean/Pacific) in an increasing number and accelerated frequency, brought together the members of Parliament of the ACP/EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 21 November. All called for increased aid from the EU to these poor countries, which are the hardest hit by natural disasters jeopardising development- and which, as they are generally possible to predict, are not necessarily inevitable, because they result from human activity, mainly from climate change. Fiona Hall (ALDE, United Kingdom), co-author of a resolution to be voted on this Thursday, stressed the importance of the opening of the debate, adding that this was "the central message" of her report, which was drafted together with Barry Faure (Seychelles). "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail", she warned, quoting the words of the President of the Scottish parliament, George Reid, as the Assembly opened. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, the infringement of the sea on the shoreline, landslides, floods, hurricanes, other violent storms, droughts, epidemics and plagues killing off the crops: "it would take the whole of the Greek alphabet to list all the tragedies which have hit the Caribbean", said Ms Hall. To limit the catastrophic effects of disasters related to climate change, she recommends the transfer of green technology to the ACP countries for broader use of renewable energy sources and greater energy efficiency. She added that other measures are possible, such as a policy of reducing levels of methane due to agriculture and opening international negotiations on reductions of greenhouse gas emissions post-2012 (end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol), early warning systems and emergency plans, together with an adequate budget. Other measures are required to fight against the deforestation which is making landslides worse, explained Ms Hall, stressing that the ban on illegal logging is only in its earliest stages. Taking the example of the frequent earthquakes in Tokyo, Barry Faure (Seychelles) noted that the rich countries have not been as vulnerable to natural disasters in terms of the number of victims and damage as poor countries with galloping population increases. And the countries which are the worst hit by climate change are those with the fewest resources to tackle the problem. He believes that these two conclusions should be considered proof that the eradication of poverty and the prevention of disasters are closely linked. The ACP/EU facility for natural disasters is a good idea, but its initial budget of 12 million EUR is not enough, said Mr Faure, urging his colleagues to negotiate an increase to this financial envelope. During the debate, many members of Parliament stressed the need for EU aid to prepare for natural disasters and to attenuate their effects on the ACP States (and particularly the small island states), additional resources to set up an efficient early warning system in the most vulnerable ACPs and for the mobilisation of funds for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the stricken countries to be speeded up. The representative of the European Commission said that he was "only too aware of the economic and human consequences of natural disasters, which reduce the income of the poorest countries by 13%", and of the increasing number of disasters linked to climate change. "Within the framework of the European Climate Change Programme (ECCP), the Commission is working on two areas: improving the fight against global warming, and helping developing countries to adapt to climate change", he explained. The requests it has received to increase ACP regional capacity will allow it to move forward with the implementation of the "natural disaster" capacity.