The Premier of Québec, Philippe Couillard, announced today in Paris a set of measures totalling $25.5M to support actions to fight climate change in Francophone countries that are the most vulnerable and most exposed to the consequences of climate change. He was accompanied for the occasion by the Secretary General of La Francophonie, Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean, the former Vice President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Al Gore, the CEO of the Climate Group, Mark Kenber, and the Honorary Ambassador of the UN’s Green Wave, Jean Lemire.
“With this unprecedented support, Québec is responding directly to an appeal by the United Nations to increase the international funding of climate actions in developing countries. Our government is proud to provide a tangible contribution and its expertise to benefit countries that are particularly affected by climate change. This is Québec’s contribution to one of the major issues of international climate negotiations,” said the Premier.
Spread over five years, the assistance consists of three measures. With a budget of $18M, the first measure will involve a call for projects to support cooperation projects among academic, research and international cooperation entities in Québec and their southern partners. These projects will capitalize on Québec’s expertise, especially in the areas of clean technology, energy, and adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
“The fight against climate change requires a commitment by the stakeholders at the forefront of this struggle that have the expertise and ability to support the most disadvantaged countries. Furthermore, this transfer of expertise can be a significant economic development lever for the most vulnerable countries,” indicated the Premier.
The second measure announced, which focuses on climate solidarity, entails a payment of $6M to the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), managed by the Global Environment Facility, the UNFCCC’s main financing mechanism. The LDCF’s primary objective is to finance national climate change adaptation programs in 48 countries, including 19 in Francophone Africa, that have been identified as the least developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and that are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
“By contributing to the Least Developed Countries Fund, Québec, as a federated state, is setting a precedent in international climate funding. This new gesture is yet another demonstration of the essential contribution of federated states in the fight against climate change and Québec’s leadership in this area,” underscored the Premier.
The third measure, centring on climate diplomacy, youth and Francophonie, aims to strengthen the capacity of the most vulnerable Francophone countries to negotiate in French and implement international climate commitments as well as to support youth initiatives in the fight against climate change.
“This initiative is one of Québec’s preferred ways to follow through on commitments made in Dakar during the Francophonie Summit in terms of sustainable development and the fight against climate change. The actions that we will put forward will enable us to heighten our collaboration with the Institut de la Francophonie pour le développement durable, which is based in Québec City,” concluded the Premier.
The Québec government is financing these climate cooperation measures with revenue generated by the carbon market it implemented as a flagship tool in its approach to fighting climate change.
We’re blogging from inside the COP21 summit in Paris – follow our updates here
https://greenarea.com.lb/climatechange
