The Dominican Republic insisted on the need to activate a fund to assist developing countries in tackling the damages derived from climate change Wednesday, at the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
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"In the Caribbean region, in the last 10 years, there have been more than 13 hydrometeorological phenomena with great consequences for our economies," said Ernesto Reyna Alcantara, the executive vice president of the Dominican Republic's National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development (CNCCMDL).
These impacts reach 225% of gross domestic product, with material losses of up to US$ 1.3 billion and climate change-related events destroy infrastructure.
Rich countries are historically responsible for climate change but the most vulnerable in less developed countries are hit the hardest. Climate finance is about trying to repair injustice so we need FAIR accounting rules. And it's NOT fair to count the face-value of loans #COP24 pic.twitter.com/69i6VJStdY
— Emilie Both (@Emilie_Both) December 13, 2018
In that sense, the countries at COP24, celebrated in Poland, approved a set of guidelines aimed at providing aid for migrants driven from their homes by climate change, recognizing the increasing phenomena of climate-related displacement.
Alcantara said that developed countries must guarantee funds for impoverished countries that are highly vulnerable to climate change and that have suffered the loss of life and infrastructure as a result of climate events such as Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
In September 2017, these cyclones caused material damages and hundreds of deaths in Puerto Rico, Dominica and other Caribbean islands that withstood destruction, Alcantara said, stressing that climate change also "threatens food security."
The Dominican Republic will be part of the U.N. Security Council starting next January.