Swiss push polluter tax in fight vs climate change

ZURICH, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Switzerland on Friday pushed for an international tax on greenhouse gases to help poor countries cope with droughts, floods and storms caused by global warming.

Swiss President Moritz Leuenberger told Reuters at an environment conference that a tax on greenhouse gas emissions could provide funds to help developing countries to deal with the impact of climate change.

The proposal is expected to be discussed at the November international conference on climate change in Nairobi sponsored by the United Nations.

"One idea is to have an international CO2 tax that would be paid into an international fund," Leuenberger said. "The burning issue at this meeting was the adaptation policy and dealing with the direct effects of damages."

CO2 gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels, are widely blamed for pushing up temperatures that could bring more powerful storms and raise world sea levels. Developing countries could face more droughts and food supplies could be undermined.

In Switzerland, glaciers are covered with white plastic to slow melting, while the Netherlands is building higher dams to prevent flooding, Leuenberger said.

The developing countries want to know who will pay for their adaptation policies, he added.

Jennifer Morgan, director of global climate change programme at the WWF, welcomed the CO2 international tax initiative. "This would be a positive sign that governments had realised the need to raise serious money to deal with climate change," she said.

"Finding new funding mechanisms is a positive part of moving forward and the polluter pays approach is welcome," she added.

November's conference in Nairobi is expected to focus on how to provide aid for developing countries so that they can cope with the consequences of climate change.

An adaptation fund was established in 2001 as part of the Kyoto protocol to finance adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are part of Kyoto.

The fund is financed by proceeds from clean development mechanism (CDM) project activities.

But Kenya's Environment Minister Kivutha Kibwana said CDM projects had not been implemented evenly and that there were very few in Africa. He added that the regional distribution of the CDM activities would be addressed in Nairobi.

One of the key issues at Nairobi will be who administrates the money in this fund and how it is spent, Morgan said.

"In Nairobi, we will need to find a way forward that is both equitable and effective," she added.