Funds needed

By Peter Richards CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Jul 15, CMC – The Deputy Director of the Belize-based Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), Dr. Ulric Trotz has defended regional countries from criticisms that they are more interested in seeking financial assistance from the developed world when dealing with the impact of climate change.

“We can’t get away from the question of finance because we need to have finance,” he said, noting that “one of our problems is that we are poor, we know what to do”.

Trotz told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the region needed the finances to deal with issues like strengthening coastal defences, making airport and seaports less vulnerable to climate risks.

“But we don’t have the resources. Take a country like Holland, they are below sea level like Guyana, but they have invested in a one in a 1000 year flood event to protect Amsterdam and the coast of Holland from that type of event.

“We in the Caribbean don’t even have the resources to protect ourselves from a one in a 10 year event. So finances are important and this is one of the arguments that we have at the international level because we are saying “look, we are in a position now , you are facing a risk that is as a result of your lifestyle, your pattern of development, we are not responsible for this but being poor and living where we are we are very vulnerable to the impacts basically that results from that type of development which you have been enjoying for years”.

Courtesy: www.cananewsonline.com