COP21 Report:Developing Countries Face Losing Billions of Dollars  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta-  In a new report released for COP21 by Oxfam, titled 'Game-changers in the Paris' climate, it is estimated that developing countries are facing almost $800 billion of adaptation costs because of climate change. The international agency reveals that in a world warming to 3 degrees, developing countries are set to face an additional US$270 billion more a year in adaptation costs by 2050, taking the total to US$790 billion.

That means more than 50 per cent more could be needed for developing countries to protect themselves from climate change than in a 2 degree scenario, which leaders meeting at the UN climate talks in Paris are aiming for.

Developing countries also face losing US$1.7 trillion annually to their economies by the middle of the century if global average temperatures rise by three degrees. This is US$600 billion more than if warming was contained to 2 degrees - four times more than rich countries gave in development aid last year.

Oxfam Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said that the report showed the scale of the challenges faced by the world's poorest people as a result of climate change. "We are seeing growing momentum for a climate deal but what is on the table so far is not enough," Byanyima said.

Byanyima added that world leaders need to step up to further cut greenhouse gas emission and give more climate funding to vulnerable communities. Byanyima believed that the human cost of climate change must be central to the discussion in Paris.

The pledges by more than 150 countries to cut emissions, known as INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) are expected to be the cornerstone of a Paris deal. But even if these targets are met, the world is likely to experience devastating warming of around 3 degrees. "The Paris deal needs to be a solid foundation for further global action to tackle climate change," Byanyima concluded.

AMANDA SIDDHARTA