World’s poorest nations suffering the fallout of a heating planet need cash now, UN climate talks
- Heatwaves in India and Pakistan and flooding in Bangladesh threaten the lives of millions, yet rich countries fall short on funding pledges
- Locally led projects are just starting to attract donors, such as the US$26.2 million grant for the Pacific island state of Vanuatu from the Green Climate Fund
The Pacific island state of Vanuatu, which was hit by an out-of-season cyclone in late May, declared a climate emergency soon after, reflecting the toll of storm damage and drought over the past decade on its people, who also face rising seas.
“We are finding more of our country is simply not safe enough to live in – so simply finding a safe place to live is the new objective for many communities,” said Vanuatu opposition leader Ralph Regenvanu before this week’s UN climate talks in Bonn.
He called for more international funding for purchasing land and building stronger infrastructure and services that will not be destroyed by heavy rains and storm surges.
From extreme weather wrecking homes and crops in unprepared island communities to millions of people facing hunger, the world’s poorest are suffering the fallout of a heating planet.
Yet they are still not receiving anything like the amount of financial help they need to protect them from a problem they did not cause, UN and government officials from those nations say.
Aid experts say growing climate vulnerability around the world is due, in part, to a lack of financial support to help societies adapt to the impacts of global warming – a deficit that persists despite increasingly urgent appeals.