CACOR JOINS Advocacy Statement of the G78 on International Climate Finance

Dear Cacor Members:

Attached you will find a joint statement of CACOR and the G78 who invited us to submit it to the Government of Canada on the topic of Canada’s international climate finance. Your board has approved this statement and it has been communicated to the Government of Canada. While you will wish to read the full statement, John Hollins has helpfully prepared a short synopsis of the highlights found below.   On behalf of the Board, David Pollock.

HIGHLIGHTS

Adaptation

The priority in climate financing for developing countries should be for adaptation rather than mitigation. The overwhelming need of developing countries, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, is for support to build resilience to climate change.

o   The poorest countries suffer the bulk of the world’s climate-change related disasters, from flooding, drought and related calamities (famine, food insecurity, health-related issues, etc.), leading to widespread loss of life, livelihoods, and property damage. The poorest countries are far from being the principal cause of climate change, yet they bear most of its social, economic and environmental consequences.

Onus for mitigation

The onus for mitigation initiatives should be on the richer countries. They are responsible for at least 90 percent of the world’s GHGs.

o   The richer countries are morally responsible both

• to cease being the principal cause of climate change and
• to alleviate the most egregious global consequences in developing countries.

Modest commitment

Canada has committed $530 million per year to international climate finance, just 0.53 percent of the $100 billion per year target set by the international community. Canada should take on a significantly greater share of global climate.  A tripling of annual financing commitments to around $1.5 billion, 1.5 percent of the global target, would be in line with Canada’s share of global GDP.

The submission email stated:

To: ClimateActionClimatique@international.gc.ca <ClimateActionClimatique@international.gc.ca>
Cc: David Pollock <[email protected]>; Group of 78 <[email protected]>
Subject: Submission by the G78 and CACOR to the Climate Finance Consultation