Paris - Cuban Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, Elba Rosa Perez, defended today at the One Planet Summit in session here the importance of public finance in fighting climate change.

The minister told Prensa Latina that the Caribbean nation considers raising financing a key issue to face environmental problems in the planet, and public sources are fundamental in this regard.

'Taking into account Cuba's experience, we believe developing countries require billions of dollars annually in funds, amount that is neither unreasonable nor exaggerated,' Perez said.

According to the minister, 'although global efforts are mobilized so different sources contribute funding; we should not oversize the role of private flows, as they are very unstable and volatile.'

Consequently, public finance should remain the priority, either through global or bilateral mechanisms, with north-south, south-south and triangular cooperation, she said.

According to the minister, if only one percent of the 2016 arms spending were allocated to the Green Climate Fund, more than $12 billion USD would be available, doubling the current amount committed.

Since the signing of the Paris Agreement two years ago, 'Cuba has made a lot of progress with concrete initiatives such as approving a State Plan to face climate change, called Tarea Vida (Task Life), and set the goal of reaching 24 percent of renewable energy use for 2030,' she argued.