U.N. climate fund seen fed by more sources

Reuters 11 Feb 08;

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A fund to help poor countries adapt to consequences of climate change such as rising seas and searing temperatures could soon be enriched by more sources, the U.N.'s top climate change official said on Monday.

Recognizing that climate change may be hard to reverse, experts are now examining "adaptation," or protection against potential catastrophes, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The United Nations agreed to start an adaptation fund for poor countries late last year at climate talks in Bali, Indonesia. Currently, the fund receives money from a levy on deals under the Clean Development Mechanism, or investments from rich countries in green technology projects in developing countries under the Kyoto Protocol.

"One of the things under discussion is whether the levy ought to be extended to other mechanisms as well which would significantly increase revenues," Yvo de Boer, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told reporters on the sidelines of a General Assembly climate debate.

The levy could be extended to Kyoto Protocol climate deals between rich countries, known as Joint Implementation, or to carbon credit trade, he said.

The fund now comprises about $36 million, but might rise to as much as $5 billion a year by 2030 if investments in green technology rise.

De Boer said it was hard to tell how much the fund would grow this year because the U.N. has a backlog of about 2,000 of the CDM projects and it is uncertain how many tons of emissions reductions they would generate or where emissions prices will go.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner, editing by Matthew Lewis)