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Download 12.08.13 Leveraging public finance workshop
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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 Page 1 of 9 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. Page 2 of 9 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 Page 3 of 9 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; Page 4 of 9 (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. Page 5 of 9 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. Page 6 of 9 (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. Page 7 of 9 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 Page 8 of 9 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. Page 9 of 9