As the developing world strives to reduce its carbon footprint, it also must cope with the negative impacts brought about by climate change. It's a double whammy that's exacerbated by the fact that these countries have very little in the way of capital or infrastructure to adjust to the changing conditions. This situation has increased calls for billions to help the developing world cope with the effects of global warming.

The UN currently has two funds to support developing nations combat climate change, but with less than $300 million currently in its vaults, the Kyoto Protocol's Adaptation Fund seems ill-equipped to meet a challenge that the NGO Oxfam International prices at some $50 billion a year.

Many advocates at the current climate summit in Poznan, Poland, have argued that developed governments should contribute directly to the fund, which is currently underwritten by a small levy on clean energy carbon-offset projects that are built in the poorer countries by developed nations.

Significant resistance continues, however, especially from finance ministers wary of spending a set figure that appears to have little or no benefit for their nation. But with a global economy that is ever more reliant on developing nations' labor supply, acting now to mitigate the economically disruptive effects of climate change in the world's poorest countries would seem to be in everyone's best interest.

Photo: Sumaiya Ahmed