RISING THREATS TO GLOBAL CLIMATE.
SHARM EL-SHEIKH - After days of intense negotiations, countries at the latest UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, yesterday agreed to establish Loss and Damage Fund to help the states affected by adverse effects of climate change.
The announcement made at the conclusion of the summit says the parties at the conclusion after two-week negotiations have agreed to establish the fund and implementation plan on the agenda.
Developing countries had repeatedly made strong and repeated appeals for the establishment of a loss and damage fund, to compensate the countries that are the most vulnerable to climate disasters, yet who have contributed little to the climate crisis.
The summit’s Egyptian presidency released a draft text of the overall agreement and called a plenary session to push the document through as the final agreement for the UN summit.
According to the agreement, the fund would initially draw on contributions from developed countries and other private and public sources such as international financial institutions.
After missing their Friday night deadline, the negotiators were finally able to reach conclusions on the most difficult items of the agenda, including a loss and damage facility – with a commitment to set up a financial support structure for the most vulnerable by the next COP in 2023 – as well as the post-2025 finance goal, and the so-called mitigation work programme, that would reduce emissions faster.
The COP27 had convened over 35,000 people, including government representatives, observers and civil society.
Reacting to the development, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the decision saying the COP27 has taken an important step towards justice.
“This COP has taken an important step towards justice. I welcome the decision to establish a loss and damage fund and to operationalize it in the coming period,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message issued from the conference venue, underscoring that the voices of those on frontlines of the climate crisis must be heard.
“We need to drastically reduce emissions now – and this is an issue this COP did not address,” he lamented, saying that the world still needs to make a giant leap on climate ambition, and to end its addiction to fossil fuels by investing “massively” in renewables.
“Clearly this will not be enough, but it is a much-needed political signal to rebuild broken trust,” he underscored, stressing that the UN system will support the effort every step of the way.
Also during the Conference, the UN announced the Executive Action Plan for the Early Warnings for All initiative, which calls for initial new targeted investments of $3.1 billion between 2023 and 2027, equivalent to a cost of just 50 cents per person per year.
The UN chief was referring to what ended up becoming the thorniest issue at this COP, shorthand for the annual Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
In his closing remarks, UNFCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, said: “At COP27… we’ve determined a way forward on a decade-long conversation on funding for loss and damage.” Among other positive steps, he said that in the text adopted Sunday morning, “we have been given reassurances that there is no room for backsliding. It gives the key political signals that indicate the phase-down of all fossil fuels is happening.”