Friday, December 5, 2008

The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Committee on Finance for Development, of which Church World Service is a member, has presented its proposals to insure fair and adequate funding for poor nations to adapt to climate change.

NEW YORK--The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Committee on Finance for Development, of which Church World Service is a member, has presented its proposals to ensure fair and adequate funding for poor nations to adapt to climate change.

The proposals were presented last week at the United Nations Financing for Development conference in Doha, Qatar, which ended Dec. 4. Developed in collaboration with CWS partner Medical Mission Sisters and others in the NGO committee, the proposals call for:

Public and private investments into new technologies for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, particularly in the area of renewable and alternative energy sources. Climate change policies to be balanced with poverty alleviation, employment creation and infrastructure development, which will call for looking into linkages between trade and finance measures. An international trust fund for low-carbon technology research, development and deployment, including waste management and recycling of hazardous substances, particularly in developing countries. Sustainable consumption and production patterns that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create less waste material. Necessary mechanisms and safeguards to ensure that funds really reach those adversely affected by climate change and not be channeled elsewhere. Climate change adversely affects millions of people worldwide. The worst affected are people in poor nations that contribute very little to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change and that are the least able to afford the cost of adapting to it.

Church World Service and its partners in this effort are pressing to ensure that foreign aid for development includes money for adaptation research and technology and that the money actually is used for that purpose.

As a member of the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, CWS is able to offer input to the U.N. member nations engaged in the multi-year process of reaching agreements on funding the global poverty fighting objectives of the Millennium Development Goals. The committee includes more than 60 non-governmental organizations committed to financial reform.

Church World Service will continue its work with the group and its advocacy around the issue through its "Enough for All" campaign.

Join the CWS Speak Out Network to encourage Congress to provide adequate "adaptation" funding to assist low-income countries to address the impact of climate change.

Media Contacts: Lesley Crosson, 212-870-2676 lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin, 24/7, 781-925-1526 jdragin@gis.net