The EU has supported the COP28 two initiatives to increase funding and commitment to humanitarian assistance in the countries most affected by extreme climate events, which will worsen as global temperatures continue to rise.
The European commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarčičstated the EU support for the Charter on Financing and Risk Managementan initiative launched this Sunday in the climate summit in dubai which establishes a series of principles to improve the response in countries most affected by the climate crisis and to anticipate natural disasters. “We will move on to act before disasters to reduce risksadapt, anticipate them when possible and guarantee that the funds arrive as soon as necessary,” the signatories promise in the letter, according to EFE.
The signatory countries also commit to collaborate on long-term planning to ensure “coherent and coordinated financing between adaptation to climate changedevelopment and the disaster risk management cycle. It aims to maximize its efforts to make aid faster, more reliable and better targeted.
On the other hand, they propose improve service delivery systems “so that the most exposed communities and the most marginalized people, including those threatened or affected by conflict and fragile situations, “receive timely help before, during and after disasters.”
Vulnerable environments
The document was presented on the same day that the Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peacesigned by 70 governments and 39 organizations – including the EU – and which focuses on climate finance for highly vulnerable and fragile environments. These hundred signatory parties offered immediate support to the most vulnerable countries and communities and those operating in “fragile and conflict-affected environments to cope with shocks” and climate stressors.
“Climate change affects us all, but not all of us equally. In fragile and conflict-affected environments, extreme weather events affect three times as many people annually as in other countries,” commented the Director General of COP28, Al Suwaidi. “Despite this, those living in extremely fragile states receive a fraction of the climate finance – up to 80 times less – compared to people living in not so fragile states,” he added.
Commitment to health
The United Arab Emirates and several charities at the UN climate summit will allocate 777 million dollars -713.7 million euros- to eradicate neglected tropical diseases which are expected to worsen as temperatures rise. This money will be used to fight tropical diseases, according to Gloria Dickie, Elizabeth Piper and Alexander Cornwell of the Reuters agency.
The sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, president of COP28highlighted in a statement that climate-related factors “have become one of the greatest threats to human health in the 21st century.” The United Arab Emirates will allocate 100 million of dollars and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, another 100 million. Also Belgium, Germany and the United States Agency for International Development have announced that they will allocate funds for climate-related health issues.
The co-founder of Microsoft and turned philanthropist, Bill Gates, He explained that scientists are working on new treatments and prevention of malaria, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes that, as temperatures increase, will have a more hospitable habitat to reproduce. “We have new tools at the laboratory level that are decimating mosquito populations,” said Gates, whose foundation supports research and public health projects for the developing world. “These new innovations give us the opportunity, at a reasonable cost, to move forward.”
The former Secretary of State of the United States, Hillary Clinton, also spoke on Sunday and called for reforming the global insurance system as another key requirement to keep people safe. “Right now insurance companies are pulling out of a lot of places, they’re not insuring homes and they’re not insuring businesses,” Clinton said, addressing a panel on women and climate resilience. “Everywhere there will be people who will be left without support, without insurance for their businesses or their homes.”
He world Bank threw a program to explore possible support measures to public health in developing countries, where climate-related health risks are especially high. Tropical disease burden will worsen as world warmsalong with other climate-driven health threats such as malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.
“Flagrant omission”
More than 120 countries have signed a COP28 declaration recognizing their responsibility to keep people safe amid global warming. But the statement does not mention fossil fuelsthe main source of climate-warming emissions, which the Global Alliance for Climate and Health called a “glaring omission.”
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Activists, including doctors in white coats, held a small demonstration on Sunday inside the COP28 venue to raise awareness of the issue. “We’re in a lot of trouble,” said Joseph Vipond, an emergency room doctor in Alberta, Canada. He recalled the case of a child who died from an asthma attack made worse by inhalation of smoke from fires record forestry in Western Canada this year. “This is having real-world impacts.”
Climate change is also increasing the frequency of dangerous storms and more erratic rainfall. In September, Cyclone Daniel killed more than 11,000 people in Libya and massive flooding last year in pakistan caused a 400% increase in malaria cases throughout the country, according to the World Health Organization.