Obama pledges $30m for climate risk insurance at COP21
President Obama announced at COP21 on Tuesday that the US will commit $30m to climate risk insurance schemes in the Pacific, Central America and Africa
US President Barack Obama announced at COP21 on Tuesday that the US will commit $30 million to climate risk insurance schemes in the Pacific, Central America and Africa.
The money is part of a wider set of actions to assist nations that are the most vulnerable to climate change and will boost their resiliency to impacts such as rising sea levels, flooding and droughts, according to the US Department of State.
As part of the initiative, the US will provide climate data, tools and services, and will incorporate climate change considerations into development assistance.
Amjad Abdulla of the Maldives and chief negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) said the development is“a sign of progress… we now encourage our partners to recognise the full scale of the challenge we face and help us tackle it together.”
The move is in line with the target that G7 leaders set earlier this year to increase the number of people from the most vulnerable developing countries with access to climate risks insurance by up to 400 million by 2020.
The newly announced finance from the US will support the Pacific Catastrophic Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative and the African Risk Capacity programme, and will expand the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility to cover Central American nations.
In June, Germany pledged to provide €150 million to initiate the programme and catalyse private sector involvement.
