Introduction

 

Climate change will dramatically affect most aspects of life within Developing Countries & Small Island States; the national economy, food & water security as well as increasing the frequency & severity of floods, famines, droughts, storms & disasters.

 

Developing Countries cannot & must not become reliant on indefinite aid from Developed Countries. The planet is already seeing a significant increase in the number & severity of storms, floods, droughts & disasters, which are costing the governments of Developed Countries billions of dollars to recover from. Within the next 10-15 years most, if not all, governments of Developed Countries will unfortunately have to cut spending on their foreign aid programs as they try to come to terms with the huge financial losses at home, caused by even stronger storms, floods, droughts & disasters occurring within their own borders. We are already seeing the beginnings of this trend with calls from certain sectors of the English Government for the redirection of foreign aid for the construction of new levees after the horrendous 2016 floods, and the US Republican Presidential Candidates vowing to cut all foreign aid funding to Developing Countries related to climate change.

 

Developing Countries & Small Island States therefore only have a small window of opportunity, to not only gain foreign aid funding for the building of necessary climate change adaptation & mitigation infrastructure, but also to develop the knowledge, capacities & technologies required to build a resilient national skilled workforce & industry base, possessing the inherent strengths & capabilities which will be required to address the enormous future challenges of climate change, across all industry & community sectors of their nation.

 

The WCCC Scholarship Program

 

Over the next six(6) years the WCCC Scholarship Program will present the opportunity to the young people of Developing Nations & Small Island States who wish gain the knowledge & skills required by their nation in its fight against climate change, to undertake international tertiary education in climate change mitigation & adaptation related fields of study.

 

Funding For the Scholarship Program

 

The WCCC is submitting the first group of Developing Nations funding applications for approval to the United Nations Green Climate Fund in March-April 2016. The funding assessment process may take another 3 months. Hence we are expecting to be able to begin assessing & placing scholarship applicants in the second half of 2016.

 

Because of the importance of this program to the governments & people of Developing Nations & Small Island States, with respect to their ongoing fight against climate change, further funding submissions will be submitted to other international & nation Development Banks & Funds who have an interest in building the capacities of Developing Nations & Small Island States to take on the enormous challenges climate change will present to their nations.

 

Support for the Scholarship Program

 

The Governments of more than 40 Developing Countries & Small Island States are already supporting the scholarship program as a great opportunity for a large number of their young people to gain the much needed qualifications & experience their nation & people are going to urgently require if they are to successfully take on the ever changing, & growing, challenges of climate change.

 

100 World Class Universities & Colleges which are already conducting specific Diploma, Undergraduate, Graduate, Masters & Doctorates studies, focused on climate change fields of study have signed onto the Scholarship Program so they can assist Developing Countries & Small Island States, each create, the large & diverse pool of Climate Change Professionals they are going to require in the coming decades in their fight against climate change.

 

Potential Climate Change Scholarship Students, now need to demonstrate to the Developed World how important the WCCC Scholarship Program is to them. Students need to make evident how their participation in the scholarship program will directly assist the people & government of their nation in its fight against climate change.