Fiji is joining other delegations in seeking ways to operationalize the Green Climate Fund before the conference ends tonight (Fiji Time).
The call on behalf of Fiji was made by the head of the Fiji delegation and Minister for Local Government, Urban Development, Housing and Environment Colonel Samuela Saumatua at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 7th Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol that has been meeting in Durban, South Africa.
Last night Fiji and other COP17 members worked beyond midnight haggling over the text of a proposed agreement that will see the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund which hopes to raise over US$100billion for development countries for climate change projects before the conference ends tomorrow.
On the topic of the Cancun Agreement, Colonel Saumatua told delegates that Fiji called for the urgent and sustainable capitalisation of the Green Climate Fund.
“We must adopt the report of the Transitional Committee and its governing instrument so that it is operational by 2012,” Colonel Saumatua said.
“We must work together to identify and mobilise long-term sources of climate finance to complement what is already available via fast track finance.”
Moreover, the minister said that there needed to be a mechanism placed to address loss and damage caused to vulnerable countries as a result of the adverse impacts of climate change.
And United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon told a UN Panel that operationalization of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) was a critical outcome of COP17 and called on all countries to do all they could to bring this about.
Colonel Saumatua was among a small group of Alliance of Small Island Development States (AOSIS) ministers and heads of delegations who had a private meeting with Mr Ki-Moon.