Brussels, 02/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - The “Friends of Europe” think tank and its partners (the World Bank, the Agence Française de Développement, the UK's Department for International Development, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the International Monetary Fund and the director general for development and relations with the ACP from the European Commission) organised a forum, on Friday 29 May 2009, on climate change and its impact on developing countries. The forum was divided into two sessions, both arbitrated by the general secretary of “Friends of Europe”, Giles Merritt.
The first session focused on the theme of the impact that climate change will have on development. Although poor countries are the countries that have least contributed to climate change, they are the most vulnerable to the impact of this change. Not only are they the first victims but also the least able to cope with this phenomenon. Environmental talks therefore focus increasingly on ways to help these countries. Several speakers took the floor on this subject. All recognised the specific vulnerability of poor countries, especially insular states, in the face of global warming. Patrick McMullan, representing the Maldives Republic delegation with the EU, confirmed this situation and stressed the need to link climate change issues with human rights. Maria Netto, UNDP Climate Change Policy Adviser, as well as Ian William Fry, International Environmental Officer within Prime Minister Tuvalu's office, and Makase Nyaphisi, Lesotho's Ambassador to Germany, also expressed the need to find new funds for helping development countries. Others, such as Henrik Eriksen, who represents the Norwegian mission with the EU, stressed the need to involve and mobilise the public more in debates on climate change. Jason Anderson, who represents the NGO, WWF, considers that the public is already sufficiently interested in such problems. Proof of this can be seen in the recrudescence of collective operations for the environment such as cutting electricity in the home for one whole hour. In his view, it is up to the institutions, especially the European institutions, to be more involved and to take real measures. The European Union could, for example, pay the €2 billion promised to the poor countries to face up to the urgent crises. The second session focused on the question of where to find the financial means to combat climate change. Everyone is agreed that it is a matter of extreme urgency for an effective solution to be found to the problem of climate change in the poor countries. Nonetheless, participants all agreed on how difficult it is to define the volume of funding needed and to determine the best ways to achieve this. Despite the crisis and declining development aid, it is necessary to find new funds and innovative methods to solve the problem. As Wahu Kaara, Kenyan social justice activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, points out in an intervention hailed by the public, global warming is a matter concerning all citizens of the world, in the south as well as in the north. In saying “we need political honesty” Wahu Kaara was referring to the next official summit on climate change to be held in Copenhagen in December. All participants have expressed their expectations but also their doubts about the summit's ability to take real decisions for effectively facing the problem of climate change, especially in the poor countries.
On 23 and 24 June 2009 during the Friends of Europe summit entitled “Climate change: Keys to a concerted policy shift”, the theme of climate will again be tackled. (L.P./transl.jl)