The Climate Change Convention

As I noted above, the Insurance Annex proposed by AOSIS remained in the draft Convention text until the last negotiating meeting before it was signed in Rio. At that time, all annexes dealing with matters of substance were removed on the grounds that insufficient time remained to reach agreement on matters of detail before Rio; and the view of some countries (although not the AOSIS countries) that the Convention should not in any event be concerned with detailed mechanisms such as the Insurance Pool.

Nonetheless, the Climate Change Convention signed at Rio did refer to insurance. When it comes into force, the parties are bound by Article 4.8 to give 'furl consideration to what actions are necessary' in regard to insurance to meet the specific needs and concerns of the most vulnerable developing countries. Small island and low-lying coastal states head the list of vulnerable countries. Also, under Article 4.4, the developed country parties are obliged to assist the vulnerable developing country parties to meet the costs of implementing adaptation to those adverse effects. It is precisely to these adaptation costs that the AOSIS insurance proposal is directed.

The AOSIS countries therefore intend to develop the outline insurance proposal into a fully researched, viable insurance scheme and to put it before the parties to the Convention when protocols related to financial issues are negotiated.