Swedish study: Climate change efforts should focus on poor

May 14, 2009, 19:40 GMT

New York - A Swedish climate change study released Thursday called for focusing assistance on the world's most vulnerable poor communities.

The study by Sweden's Commission on Climate Change and Development said the world's most vulnerable communities have somewhat adapted to climate change as many have already felt its impacts.

Fighting poverty and climate change are inseparable and must be solved together in order to pursue goals of development in poor countries, the study said. The poor have no voice in the current debate on climate change at the highest levels of government and international organizations, it added.

The study was carried out with information gathered in visits to countries with varied environments: Cambodia's Mekong Delta; Mali, a semi-arid country; and Bolivia, a high altitude country with a complex geography.

'Climate change impacts are already here and happening faster than predicted,' the study said. 'Arctic ice and tropical glaciers are melting, weather-related disasters are increasing, oceans are getting more acidic, changing ecosystems - we have no other option than to adapt.'

The study was given to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at UN headquarters in New York as the UN is preparing for the final conference in Copenhagen December 7-18 to try to adopt a document to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in 2012. The protocol deals with the regulations of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.

The Swedish commission called for the mobilization of additional funds to help the most vulnerable communities like small island and low-income nations, but said the money should not come at the expense of existing funds for development in poor countries.

It called on donor countries to mobilize between 1 billion and 2 billion dollars annually to assist the vulnerable communities and also to build democratic and efficient governance in order to receive and allocate the new funding, particularly to local governments.

The commission said more work is needed to determine the needs in those communities, but it is optimistic that promising options could raise as much as 15 billion dollars a year to response to the needs.

The study proposed using the global economic downturn to design a 'green stimulus package' centering on the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

In a related matter, the UN's top official for the climate change talks, Yvo de Boer, said Thursday in New York that negotiations for a new Kyoto Protocol appear on track, citing the strong support of governments, particularly that of US President Barack Obama.

De Boer said stimulus packages for economic recovery by various governments have included funds for renewable sources of energy, energy efficiency, vehicles technology and improved infrastructure.

'There is a very clear commitment of the new US administration to the issue of climate change and to re-engage in negotiations to come to an agreement in December, but also to put in place an ambitious domestic package,' he said.