In A Historic Moment, Rich Countries Have Agreed To Pay For Climate Change Damages In Poor Countries
In a first, rich countries have agreed to create a fund to pay for the damages that poor and vulnerable countries have already been bearing the brunt of as a result of climate change.
In a first, rich countries have agreed to create a fund to pay for the damages that poor and vulnerable countries have already been bearing the brunt of as a result of climate change.
The “loss and damage” fund was announced in the early hours on Sunday Nov. 20 at COP27, the UN’s annual climate change conference, in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheik, after two weeks of negotiations between nearly 200 countries.
For years, wealthier nations have rejected discussing compensation for loss and damage – funding costs that countries can’t avoid or adapt to.
Loss and damage refers to the harms vulnerable states are already suffering as a result of climate change, such as rising sea levels.
The US and the European Union had held out for decades “out of fear that they could be held legally liable” for the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving global warming, the New York Times reported.
Under the deal, which was finally agreed on after marathon late-night negotiations on Sunday, countries can’t be held legally liable for payments.
According to the deal, a new committee will be formed to figure out how the fund would work.
It would be made up of representatives from 24 countries who would work out which countries should contribute and which countries should receive the money.
The breakthrough agreement has been hailed by climate activists and Global South countries.
“The announcement offers hope to vulnerable communities all over the world who are fighting for their survival from climate stress, and gives some credibility to the COP process.” Sherry Rehman, the minister for climate change from Pakistan said, according to the New York Times.
One third of the country was submerged when devastating floods hit Pakistan over summer, killing at least 119 people in a day and affecting more than 30 million people.
Pakistan contributes to less than 1% of the emissions that contribute to global warming.
The agreement also reaffirmed the existing commitment by countries to limit global warming to less than 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels in the 19th century.
However, countries failed to reach any new goals on phasing out fossil fuels and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
In a statement, the UN’s Secretary General António Guterres called the loss and damage fund an important step for climate justice but said the world still needed to “take a giant leap on climate ambition.”
“Our planet is still in the emergency room,” he said. “We need to drastically reduce emissions now – and this is an issue this COP did not address.
“A fund for loss and damage is essential – but it’s not an answer if the climate crisis washes a small island state off the map – or turns an entire African country to desert,” he said.
