Heavy Storm Damage To Vanuatu Will Affect Paris Talks, Diplomats Say

"The mounting death toll and devastation in Vanuatu since Cyclone Pam smashed the Pacific island nation this weekend have heightened calls for a global climate change compensation fund.

From the Maldives to the Marshall Islands, small island leaders said yesterday that the losses in Vanuatu -- with 24 confirmed dead and more than 3,300 people displaced, according to the United Nations -- hit home for them, as well.

They and others insist that providing a way to address the unavoidable economic losses suffered due to climate change, known in the lingo of international negotiations as "loss and damage," must be a central part of any new climate accord. With governments preparing to craft a deal in Paris in December, they said, Cyclone Pam gives a tragic potency to their argument."

Lisa Friedman reports for ClimateWire March 17, 2015.

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"Disaster Risk Reduction Meeting Jolted by Cyclone Pam" (Environment News Service)