Dispute in Climate Change Adaptation Finance – Towards a convergent outcome for the COP-15

Abstract

Given that the challenges resulting from climate change arise from transboundary harm, the global community must come together to address both causes and consequences. Furthermore, because there are multiple and different sovereign interests and needs at stake, it is essential that Parties are able to firstly approach the problems and solutions using a common terminology and understanding, and secondly arrive at solutions that give rise to effective results. This article looks at the current negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that brings sovereign states together to address transboundary harm caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, it focuses on the negotiation of a financial architecture required to support adaptation to climate change impacts, and discusses the positions of five Parties selected to capture a range of interests, economic development, vulnerability and responsibility for climate change (namely, the European Union, the United States of America, India, China and the Alliance of Small Island States). This article presents a commentary on the trends in Party positions, and provides some historical and current context for explaining why Parties take certain positions on elements of an adaptation finance package.