The Dominican delegation to the Climate Conference in Paris is pressing the point that the cost to the country of fighting climate change is a staggering US$17 billion.
The delegation at the conference has spent ten days working towards an agreement although there are still points of divergence among the more than 100 countries taking part.
Dominican head of delegation Omar Ramirez, who is the vice president of the National Council for Climate Change and Clean Development (CNCCMDL), says that one of the key issues is money and the hope is that the more developed countries will help their less developed counterparts, the poorer countries that are more vulnerable to climate change.
He said that the economic development plan presented by the Dominican Republic, to be implemented from 2015 to 2030, needed around US$17 billion. Much of this would be needed for introducing more renewable energy sources for electricity, as the country could not go on depending on fossil fuels.
It is hoped that some of the resources needed would come from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which was set up by the convention to contribute to the fight against climate change. The fund would allow the Dominican Republic to borrow money from the fund over 15 years at an interest rate of 1.75%.
http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2015/12/08/399552/rd-requiere-us-17000-millones-para-enfrentar-el-cambio-climatico