Download 12.08.13 Leveraging public finance workshop

Mr Simon Springett
UNDP Resident Representative
Mr P. Jhugroo
Permanent Secretary of my Ministry
Mrs Ng
Director of Environment
Dr Intsiful
AAP Task Manager for Africa
Consultants and Resource Persons
Delegates of AAP Participating Countries
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am very much honoured to be in your midst today for the opening ceremony
of this Regional Workshop on ‘Leveraging public finance to catalyse private
sector engagement in climate resilient development’ which will last up to
Friday 17 August 2012.
Allow me, at the outset to express, on behalf of the Government of Mauritius,
our gratitude towards the Government of Japan for funding the Africa
Adaptation Programme on climate change. I want to thank the UNDP and the
Inter Regional Technical Support Centre for providing technical support in the
implementation of the Programme. I also want to thank all the resource persons
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and delegates from the different countries for having positively responded to
our invitation. I extend a very warm welcome to our delegates from abroad.
Our presence here to-day bears testimony to our commitment to work together
and shape a more resilient and climate sustainable environment for our present
and future generations.
Ladies and Gentlemen
You will agree that climate change is a harsh reality and we cannot escape the
fact that its impacts are worsening worldwide and will continue to impact on
our livelihood, on the local and global environment and on our respective
economies if we don’t take appropriate actions to mitigate them.
Latest scientific reports released by international organizations, clearly indicate
that the world is heading towards an unprecedented climate crisis. According
to the National Aeronautic and Scientific Administration (NASA), 2011 was the
ninth warmest year since 1880 as far as global average surface temperature is
concerned. In 2010, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme on
climate change brought to light that net loss of mass from Greenland Ice Sheet
has increased and has contributed for more than 40% of the average global sea
level rise i.e. an order of 3 to 5 millimeters per year.
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The impacts associated with such changes on Small Island Developing States, in
particular, are such that low lying coastal areas and even certain islets are
getting inundated during extreme weather events. Some of them are even
facing the threat of disappearing forever.
On the basis of the 4th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, it is predicted that by the year 2080:
(a)
1.8 billion people of the world population could be living without the
required quantity of potable water;
(b)
600 million people worldwide could be affected by malnutrition; and
(c)
400 million people could be exposed to malaria.
According to the Red Cross, climate shocks may cause large scale migration
and it is estimated that the number of environmental refugees would be greater
than the number of people fleeing war. By the middle of this century, there
could be as many as 200 million people who would be forced out from their
homes because of rising sea levels, heavier floods and more prolonged
droughts.
Least developed countries and Small Island Developing States, like Mauritius,
which are highly vulnerable, are going to be the worst hit by climate change. It
is quite alarming to note that with the recent trend in the greenhouse gas
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emissions, temperature rise may go beyond 3 degrees Celsius by the term of
this century.
For Africa, this may imply up to 6 degrees Celsius rise in
temperature. This will definitely exacerbate the rate of crop and biodiversity
loss, food insecurity and a spread of climate sensitive diseases. Climate change
will thus jeopardize the hard earned economic gains that our countries have
realized in the recent past and influence adversely our efforts to attain the
Millennium Development Goals.
To put it bluntly, the stark reality is that with the effects of the combined effects
of economic, financial, social and environmental crises, existing economic
models and patterns do not necessarily work.
We have therefore no alternative but to ADAPT with climate change since
adaptation can help reduce our vulnerability.
In this context, I wish to point out that Mauritius has initiated several actions
under the Africa Adaptation Programme. The major ones include:
(i)
the development, for the first time, of a climate change adaptation
framework for the Republic of Mauritius;
(ii)
the development of a Strategy and Action Plan for Disaster Risk
Reduction and management;
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(iii) the development of Strategies and Action Plans for climate change
adaptation in the agricultural, fisheries and tourism sectors in
Mauritius and in the water sector for Rodrigues;
(iv) the review of our institutional set up, laws and regulations to take on
board climate change; and
(v)
capacity building across the different sectors.
Mauritius has already embarked on a plan to mainstream sustainable
development in its socio-economic development to ensure that economic
growth is harmonized with social development and environmental protection.
To maintain and consolidate the path of sustainability, our Prime Minister
launched, in 2008, the Maurice Ile Durable (MID) initiative which is a societal
project and a national programme aimed at transforming the Economic, Social
and Environmental landscape of Mauritius. In this context, the MID national
Policy and 10-year Strategy is being developed in a fully participative and
democratic manner with the collaboration of all stakeholders. The MID Strategy
would be a comprehensive roadmap for moving towards the green economy
and the creation of green and decent jobs. It will be of tremendous importance
for land use planning, water use and conservation, food security and
sustainable agriculture, conservation and protection of natural resources,
energy efficiency, renewable energy production and for building resilience to
climate change.
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The MID programme also aims at increasing the share of renewable energy in
our energy mix from the current 18% to 35% by 2025 whilst improving energy
efficiency.
I wish to add that the MID Project was showcased as a model for sustainable
development at the Rio+20 Summit held in June 2012 in Brazil.
Along with the MID Project, the following Programmes relating to climate
change are being implemented by the Government of Mauritius:-
(i)
The Adaptation Fund Board set up under the Kyoto Protocol is funding
a project named “Climate Change Adaptation Programme in the
Coastal Zone of Mauritius” to the tune of USD 9.1 million. The project
will, among others, address current climate change risks at three
vulnerable coastal sites namely Mon Choisy, Rivière des Galets and
QuatreSoeurs/Deux Frères. The strengthening of an Early Warning
System for coastal communities at risk is also being envisaged.
(ii)
We are also coordinating the implementation of the Technology Needs
Assessment project with the aim of identifying the technological means
to enable Mauritius to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
enhance adaptation to climate change in sectors consistent with
development priorities.
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(iii) Again with the assistance of the Government of Japan, we are
implementing a project for Capacity Development on Coastal
Protection and Rehabilitation. The prime objective of this project is to
mitigate the impacts of coastal erosion using innovative and long term
resilient coastal protection and reef conservation measures.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We may have very good programmes and projects on climate change
adaptation but one key factor is the availability of adequate funding to
implement these programmes and projects. It is known that the cost of adaption
to climate change is very high. Preliminary estimates indicate that such costs
could go up to 10% of the Gross Domestic Product for vulnerable economies.
I would like to share with you an estimation of the cost of adaptation to climate
change for Mauritius, in particular, with regards to flooding mainly due to
torrential rains and cyclonic conditions. In its draft Report on the study of
Disaster Risk Reduction, conducted under the AAP, Consultants have
estimated that the cost of damages from flooding for the Republic of Mauritius
in the next 50 years could amount up to Rs 100 billion and the cost of protection
measures to avoid these potential damages could be in the region of Rs 60
billion.
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Governments alone will not be able to finance the massive costs of adaptation
to climate change. Today, there are public, private, bilateral and multilateral
sources that offer countries new opportunities to address their climate and
development needs. The increase in climate change funding opportunities
makes it important for countries to consider how to attract and leverage
different types of climate change investment, including that from private
sources.
The International Energy Agency has estimated that about 40% of the global
additional investment needed in climate change finance in 2020 will come from
private households, 40% from businesses and the remaining 20% from
Government. A key challenge for countries will be to use scarce public funds to
attract private investment.
While climate change poses serious threats, it also provides various novel
opportunities for the business community. Green development, green tourism,
green technologies and the development of the ocean economy are but a few
areas offering opportunities that the private sector can tap with perspectives to
re-engineer their businesses and reduce their cost of doing business.
Actions are needed worldwide to cut on Green House Gas emissions and to
save our planet for our children and grandchildren. Adaptation to climate
change must be the business of us all : Government, private sector, civil society
and the international community. We must all join hands and work together to
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increase our adaptive capacity and to raise the level of preparedness to better
face the future.
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my earnest wish that this workshop will shed more light on methodologies
for conducting economic analysis of climate change adaptation and build the
capacity of participants to develop appropriate climate finance mechanisms in
collaboration with the public and private sector players.
With these words, I wish you all fruitful discussions and deliberations and I
have now the pleasure to declare the workshop open.
Thank you for your attention.
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