C'wealth looks for financing climate vulnerable countries like Bangladesh

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PORT OF SPAIN, Dec 2 (UNB): The three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) '2009 ended with strong consensus of the global leaders to facilitate financing for the Most Vulnerable Countries (MVCs) to adapt to and deal with the disastrous effects of the global warming.
The Commonwealth leaders in the meeting that began here on November 27 has also wrought consensus on a Commonwealth climate change declaration, whose key element involves immediate funding from next year for small island states affected.
The CHOGM '2009 declaration was announced on Sunday by conference chairman and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Patrick Manning, at a media briefing at the International Financial Centre (IFC).
Climate change will terrifically affect many sectors, including water resources, agriculture and food security, ecosystems and biodiversity, human health and coastal zones in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives and many other least developed countries. Many environmental and developmental problems will be exacerbated by climate change.
Predicted rainfall increases, particularly during the summer monsoon, could increase flood-prone areas in Bangladesh while crop yields are predicted to fall by up to 30 per cent, creating a very high risk of hunger.
In the short term, the global warming increases risk of flooding, erosion, mudslides during the wet season. In the longer term, global warming could lead to disappearance of many glaciers that feed many rivers in South Asia resulting in permanently inundating big areas of land geography of the countries.
The Commonwealth summit ended with a high expectation that the upcoming United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark will be able to give birth to concrete and effective outcome for the MVCs to the climate threats.
The Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister at the media briefing was flanked by Prime Minister of Denmark Lars Lokke Rassmussen, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma.
Kevin Rudd during the presentation of the CHOGM declaration termed it as the Port-of-Spain Climate Change Consensus.
He said the declaration was a significant and substantial document aimed at providing consensus, momentum and support for a substantial outcome in Copenhagen.