Brussels - The European Union's executive arm, the Commission, on Tuesday called for the creation of an alliance with poorer nations to help them face the threats posed by climate change. "Climate change is a threat to all of us, but the poorest and least-developed countries are in the worst situation - the island countries, for example, where the prospects are most dramatic," EU Development and Aid Commissioner Louis Michel told journalists.
"Natural disasters related to climate are significantly increasing," added the commissioner, whose task it is to propose EU- wide legislation on development and aid issues.
The proposal on the Global Climate Change Alliance foresees the creation of an international system in which the EU will "provide substantial resources" to help the world's poorest countries slow the process of climate change and mitigate its effects.
If approved by the European Parliament and the EU's 27 member states, the alliance would focus on helping vulnerable partner nations prepare defensive measures against natural disasters.
It would also help them to control the emission of the leading climate-change gas, carbon dioxide, by reducing deforestation and joining global carbon-trading schemes, Michel said.
Fifty million euros (69.36 million dollars) had been allocated to launch the alliance, Michel said, with organizers hoping that EU members would make further contributions from their aid budgets.
It is too early to say which poorer states would be involved in the alliance, but the priority would be given to the poorest countries and small island states, the commissioner said.
In early September, the European Commission warned that the frequency of weather-related disasters around the world was rising, with disasters in Colombia, the Caribbean, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Kenya, North Korea and Sudan reported in August alone.
