Climate Action 2017-2018

FINANCE
International Mechanism on Loss and
Damage. The AOSIS plan envisions a
three-part organisational structure housed
under the UNFCCC with oversight from
technical and finance panels. Linkages
could also be drawn to existing adaptation
funds as well as a number of UN bodies,
non-governmental organisations and the
private sector.
The first component recognises that
managing climate impacts demands
acquiring baseline historical information
about weather hazards and quantified
assessments of a variety of new risks.
The data should be used to guide the
development and implementation of
country-specific measures that reduce
exposure to climate impacts in the first place.
A second part resembles insurance
systems commonly found in the developed
world and would cover countries for costs
associated with sudden climate impacts,
such as tropical storms, hurricanes,
floods, and droughts. This is particularly
relevant for small islands, because our
populations tend to be concentrated in
highly vulnerable coastal zones. And it is
no surprise that the elevated risks we face
often make the cost of insurance premiums
prohibitive, if coverage is available at all.
Finally, the plan calls for the creation
of an international solidarity fund, or
‘mechanism’, that would compensate
countries for economic and noneconomic
losses stemming from slowonset
climate impacts, such as sea-level
rise, ocean acidification, coral bleaching,
saltwater intrusion and desertification.
This could include lost revenue to the
tourism and fishing industries, cultural
impacts, and, in the worst case, the cost
of relocation should islands become
uninhabitable.
We have seen what it is like to be on
the front line of climate change, and what
it takes to make lives whole again. COP23
is our next opportunity to take action: we
had better seize it.
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