Haiti received last week the 32nd Meeting of the Group of Experts of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on climate change just a few days before the Paris Agreement (COP21) which enters into force on 31 August. Download the COP21 agreement https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/l09f.pdf

In her speech Yvonne Helle, the Senior Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Haiti declared :

Excerpts from Yvonne Helle's speech :

"[...] For the populations of many developing countries that will bear the greatest burden of climate change, the Paris Agreement opens new perspectives, particularly in terms of financing and capacity building for sustainable and more resilient development.

[...] For the period from 1996 to 2015, Haiti is ranked 3rd among the countries most affected by extreme weather events. The socio-economic impacts are major [...] The cumulative costs of the impacts of climate disruption without taking preventive measures to reduce disaster risks could amount to 1.8 billion dollars for the year 2025, according to the report on Planned Contributions Determined at National Level (CPDN-Haiti, 2015). Download the study on the estimating of costs of the impacts of climate change in Haiti : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/UNDP-HT-ProEnv-EtuEconoCC.pdf

[...] funding needs for adaptation are high and amount to close to $16.6 billion (CPDN-Haiti, 2015) [initial proposal superior of $25 billion] Download the Haiti proposal : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/CPDN_Republique-d-Haiti.pdf

[...] As an LDC and small island developing state, Haiti is not able to cope alone with the effects of climate change because its financial and technical capacities are limited. Without the ability to manage the risks and opportunities associated with medium- and long-term climate change, the adverse effects of climate change will jeopardize the years of progress towards sustainable development and the prospects for economic growth.

For this reason, the development of a national adaptation plan is essential if adaptation and climate change in general are to be systematically integrated into development processes [...] This adaptation plan must be based on the plans and programs implemented by Haiti's technical and financial partners.

But Haiti, as the only LDC in the Latin American region, will need additional support to develop the required institutional structures, knowledge base and technical capacity to launch a functional, intersectoral and iterative process to integrate adaptation to climate change in the processes of planning and budgeting, national and sectoral.

Rest assured that UNDP and the United Nations system as a whole will continue to support the Government of Haiti in its efforts to address climate change [...]"

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15387-haiti-environment-cop21-an-action-plan-of-over-25-billion-dollars-for-haiti.html

HL/ HaitiLibre