Africa 'needs climate change cash'.10/10/2009 1:47:28 AM African leaders have said the continent will need $65bn to deal with the effects of global warming
The predicted effects of global warming on the environment and for human life are numerous and varied. It is generally difficult to attribute specific natural phenomena to long-term causes, but some effects of and called for the support of rich nations. Salifou Sawadogo, Burkina Faso's environment minister, on Friday called for "solidarity" between rich and poor countries. "We think $65bn are needed to deal with the effects of climate change on a continental scale. That is to say that our expectations are very high," Sawadogo said. "We are all on the same planet so there is a duty of solidarity to help the most vulnerable countries, like we are, implement policies to adapt to climate change." Experts say Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions most affected by global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. . Development divide The World Bank estimates that the developing world will suffer about 80 per cent of the damage of climate change, even though it accounts for only around one third of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. But Western representatives at the Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (burkē`nə fä`sō), republic (2005 est. pop. 13,925,000), 105,869 sq mi (274,200 sq km), W Africa. It borders on Mali in the west and north, on Niger in the northeast, on Benin in the southeast, and on Togo, Ghana, and forum warned that African demands for "compensation" would be hard to meet. Sawadogo's comments, made at the three-day World Forum on Sustainable Development Sustainable development is a socio-ecological process characterized by the fulfilment of human needs while maintaining the quality of the natural environment indefinitely. The linkage between environment and development was globally recognized in 1980, when the International Union hosted by Burkina Faso, come two months before a critical UN summit on climate change. The Burkina Faso conference also came as UN climate talks in the Thai capital of Bangkok drew to a close with the rift between the rich and the poor countries still unresolved. A key point of contention remains how much money wealthy nations are willing to pledge to help developing ones deal with climate change. Youssouf Ouedraogo, a former prime minister of Burkina Faso, said that countries meeting at Copenhagen would need to find "a reciprocal exchange". "Africa should not be made to feel that while it is the least polluting pol·lute tr.v. pol·lut·ed, pol·lut·ing, pol·lutes 1. To make unfit for or harmful to living things, especially by the addition of waste matter. See Synonyms at contaminate. 2. continent its views and demands are not heard. That would be dangerous," he said. Climate change is already reeking reek v. reeked, reek·ing, reeks v.intr. 1. To smoke, steam, or fume. 2. To be pervaded by something unpleasant: "This document ... havoc in Africa with West Africa West Africa A region of western Africa between the Sahara Desert and the Gulf of Guinea. It was largely controlled by colonial powers until the 20th century. West African adj. & n. suffering from floods while east Africa is facing an historic drought. Aljazeera.net 2003 - 2009 Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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