NEW DELHI (AlertNet) - Funds pledged by rich countries to help developing nations adapt to the impacts of climate change are at risk from the global credit crunch and economic downturn, the United Nations has warned.
Deirdre Boyd, country director for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in India, told AlertNet financing must be made available to help countries like India deal with hazards caused by global warming, such as rising seas and melting glaciers. But she warned the global financial crisis could jeopardise these crucial funds.
"What had happened in recent international meetings was that there was a commitment from donors that they would provide new money for adaptation," said Boyd. "There is now a question mark hanging over the impact of the financial crisis on making available new money for adaptation."
Experts say the effects of global warming threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people in the Indian subcontinent. As melting glaciers feed into major rivers, more severe flooding is expected, and extreme weather like heatwaves and droughts is likely to become more frequent.
Adaptating to climate change includes measures such as building dykes and embankments to help protect coastal areas from rising seas, growing drought-tolerant crops, and relocating people from flood-prone areas to higher ground.
U.N. projections are that poor nations will need tens of billions of dollars annually by 2030 to cope with climate change, but the amount on offer barely stretches beyond several hundred million dollars per year.
In December, about 190 nations agreed at a U.N. climate change conference to launch a fund to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of global warming such as droughts, floods and rising seas. The fund is worth only around $58 million, although its value could rise to $300 million a year by 2012, depending on market prices for carbon credits.
Boyd said countries like India are particularly concerned that the financial crisis could dent rich countries' willingness to support efforts to cope with climate change in poorer nations.
As negotiations gather pace on a new global climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, due to be wrapped up in December, developing countries are insisting that new money should be made available for adaptation rather than diverted from existing development aid.
"The developing nations are worried that that money will be taken from the existing basket rather than being added in," Boyd said.
"We haven't yet seen much of this new money for adaptation and that's the concern. Will we see it now as a result of the financial crisis?"
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