Interaction Climate Change And En 11409

President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington

Chair Jo Luck Heifer International

December 3, 2009 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama: As the critical climate change negotiations in Copenhagen approach, I am writing on behalf of InterAction’s members to express our appreciation for your commitment to finding a fair and ambitious global solution to the climate crisis. Your continued leadership is vital in achieving an outcome in Copenhagen that will ensure substantial additional support to build developing countries’ and vulnerable populations’ capacity to adapt to climate change impacts already occurring. Financial resources must be provided to support clean energy technologies and forest protection in developing countries, equipping them to combat climate change while reducing poverty and developing sustainably.

Vice Chair Tsehaye Teferra Ethiopian Community Development Council

Treasurer Kathy Spahn Helen Keller International

Board of Directors Sekyu Chang Korean American Sharing Movement

Julius E. Coles Africare

Christopher Elias PATH

Anne Goddard ChildFund International

Susan Hayes Interplast

Benjamin K. Homan Food for the Hungry

Melanie Macdonald

As you recently said before the United Nations, “any effort that fails to help the poorest nations both adapt to the problems that climate change has already wrought – and travel a path of clean development – will not work.” In the final days before Copenhagen, it is vitally important that the US engage as a constructive voice in the negotiating process and serve as an ally to those most vulnerable to but least responsible for climate change. To achieve a successful conclusion in Copenhagen, the US should bring the following to the negotiations:

World Neighbors

Mary Ellen McNish American Friends Service Committee

Steve Mosley AED

Carol Peasley CEDPA

Daniel Pellegrom

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A clear commitment on the scale of long-term public finance. The key to advancing significant adaptation and mitigation actions in developing countries is to mobilize adequate, predictable, new and additional financial resources over the longterm. The outcome in Copenhagen must not fail to include clear commitments by developed countries on the scale of long-term public climate finance, and the US should come to the table with an offer for this funding commitment. The World Bank has assessed that developing countries will need $75-100 billion a year for adaptation during the 2010-2050 period, and the European Union has agreed that total global public finance for both adaptation and mitigation should be $32-75 billion a year (2250 billion Euros per year). To avoid undercutting other key development objectives, financial resources for climate action should be in line with the high-end of these estimates and be additional to official development assistance. The US should be prepared to provide its fair share of the aggregate funding from developed countries.

Pathfinder International

Jonathan Quick Management Sciences for Health

Robert Radtke Episcopal Relief and Development

Farshad Rastegar Relief International

Jonathan Reckford Habitat for Humanity

William S. Reese International Youth Foundation

Carter Roberts World Wildlife Fund

Zainab Salbi Women for Women International

Ron Sconyers

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A quickly ramped-up level of short-term or “fast-start” public finance. The US should build on past appropriations or those currently under consideration by Congress and commit to a substantially increased level of public climate finance for the period 2010-2012. In particular, we believe the US should commit to at least $3

Physicians for Peace

Alison Smith InsideNGO

Richard Stearns World Vision

billion a year in public climate finance for that period, a significant amount of which should go through channels linked to the UNFCCC. 

A commitment to an equitable and accountable new global climate fund. We see your administration’s proposal to create a new Global Fund for Climate for both adaptation and mitigation as an important step. Any new multilateral climate fund must be driven by the engagement of recipient governments and citizens; responsive to the needs of vulnerable communities and populations; and receptive to communities seeking to adopt low-carbon development pathways through clean energy and reduced deforestation. For Copenhagen to achieve this, the new global fund must be governed equitably and transparently with funding provided in a manner that respects the rights and interests of affected communities and populations and ensures their full participation. Impacts on rights should be included in monitoring and reporting, and adaptation finance should be prioritized for the most vulnerable populations, including women. In addition, the multilateral fund should be under the authority of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in order to help ensure that the funding mechanism is fully and equitably accountable to all Parties in the UNFCCC, including particularly vulnerable developing countries.

As you know, climate change will have severe consequences for the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world due to increasing floods, water scarcity, and health threats, as well as growing instability. Developing countries are eager to build resilience to these impacts and to develop and reduce poverty in low-carbon ways, including through both clean energy and reduced deforestation. Taking these actions is critical to addressing our joint objectives of global security and stability, development and poverty reduction, and a clean and resilient climate future. Your continued leadership will help build the capacity of developing countries to achieve these joint objectives. With such a shared commitment, we can achieve truly meaningful international cooperation in addressing what is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. Sincerely,

Samuel A. Worthington President and CEO InterAction