UN climate projects for poorest 'feared frozen'
Hundreds of United Nations-backed projects to help the world's poorest countries cope with the most urgent impacts of climate change have not been acted upon, the BBC has learnt.
Many of these were proposed years ago and may have to be abandoned.
Experts and officials from the world's 48 least developed countries say lack of funding is the main reason.
They warn that a new long-term global climate defence plan may kick these projects further into the long grass.
More than 500 such projects are listed in the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), which least developed countries had been preparing since 2001 under the UN climate convention.
However, fewer than 100 of them have been actually implemented, leaving vulnerable communities in these countries exposed to known risks, experts have told the BBC.
Scientists say poorest countries are the hardest hit by climate change impact.
A recent report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) found that the 10 worst weather- and water-related disasters happened primarily in least developed and developing countries.
The events in these countries have killed nearly 1.4 million people between 1970 and 2012 - around 70 percent of such deaths globally.
LDCs require more than $2bn to complete the 500 or more climate adaptation projects they have identified, but not even $900m has been made available to the fund so far.
Poorest countries also fear they will have to compete with wealthier nations to get the necessary funding.
The Green Climate Fund, a new international climate financing mechanism under the UN climate convention, is expected to be one of the major funding sources for NAPs.
Donor countries have so far pledged nearly $10bn (£6.25bn) for the fund while it aims to have $100bn (£625bn) available by 2020.
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