Pay up, polluters told

2009-10-11 21:10

Ouagadougou - Africa, the continent hardest hit by climate change, will demand that reparations and damages be paid by polluting countries, African Union Commission chair Jean Ping said on Sunday.

At the UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December, "Africa will present a common position for the first time", Ping said, speaking at the seventh World Forum for Sustainable Development which focuses on climate change. The meeting was held in Burkina Faso's capital.

"We have decided to speak with one voice" and "will demand reparation and damages", he added, not saying how much money Africa would seek.

On Friday Burkina Faso's Environment Minister and one of the organisers of the forum, Salifou Sawadogo, said the continent needed $65bn to deal with the effects of climate change.

"Policy makers have to agree to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses and adhere to the principle that the pollutor pays," Ping said.

- AFP