MALOLOS
CITY—If there was any positive effect coming from super typhoon Yolanda, it
would most surely be the
operationalization by 2014 of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) of the United
Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCC).
Speaking
to journalists at the sidelines of the Climate Change Consciousness Week
conference at the SM Convention Center on Tuesday, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said
Yolanda (international name, Haiyan) has put more pressure on representatives
to the recent 19th Conference of Parties (COP) held in Poland to implement the
GCF.
“At
least $14 billion will be operational by next year,” said Salceda, the elected
co-chair for the GCF Board. He disclosed that European countries like Germany,
Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK), and Australia
have
expressed interest in putting the initial donations.
The
GCF, Salceda explained, was first conceived in the COP held in Copenhagen in
2009 wherein developed nations were asked to contribute a total of $30 billion
per year from 2009 to 2015; and $100 million from 2015 to 2020.
However,
the GCF was not put into operation until it was formally created in Cancun,
Mexico where the COP16 was held in 2010. The following year, the GCF was
finally formed in Durban, South Africa. Salceda said operationalization of the
GCF can be finally approved in the United Nations’ General Assembly (UN-GA) by
September 2014.
“It
is good news in itself, because it means that we are moving forward,” said the
governor who also spoke during a parallel workshop on climate change for
journalists. When asked by PromdiNews if the said fund can be availed of for
victims of Yolanda, Salceda said that it is open for developing countries to
address risks of climate change.
“GCF
is an instrument of the family of nations to enable developing countries in
performing their functions in adaptation and mitigation, so hindi lang sa
calamity, risk based yan,” he said. At present, the GCF board is finalizing
requirements for accreditation of countries interested in availing the fund.
In
an earlier statement, Lawyer Mary Ann Lucille Sering, secretary of the Climate
Change Commission of the Philippines, said the “the swift operationalization of
the Green Climate Fund is critical to helping developing countries adapt to and
cope with the worsening impacts of climate change.”
Sering
added that “we are committed to exercising leadership and ensuring the
essential requirements are fulfilled by September 2014 so money will start
flowing to countries that are in need and most vulnerable.
Many
of our countries have put in place policies and domestic financing strategies
to make our economies resilient, rebuild communities better and in a
transformational manner – but we need international support to help us bridge
the gap and make this transition towards climate-resilient low-emission
development.”
The
GCF’s purpose is to make a significant contribution to the global efforts to
limit warming to two degrees Celsius by providing support to developing
countries to help limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and
to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
