There is finally some light at the end of the COP27 negotiations tunnel. For the first time in 30 years, the topic of loss and damage finance was not only on the COP27 agenda, but this historic fund for climate-vulnerable countries was also agreed upon at the close of the two-week-long UN climate summit.
This historic first did not come without hardships. The negotiations started off on the wrong foot with large polluting nations, such as the U.S., the UK and countries of the EU, trying to hit pause on key issues. Last Wednesday, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) even expressed grave concern regarding those backtracking on climate action and loss and damage finance. The fact that delegations had to fight tooth and nail to keep the commitments agreed in Glasgow in effect is hugely disappointing. But SIDS leaders and loss and damage negotiators were determined not to leave the summit without a result.
Now that the plenary session has approved the document’s provision to establish a loss and damage fund to help developing countries bear the immediate costs of climate-fueled events, the next steps are implementation and funding. Indeed, this is only the beginning and details such as who will pay into the fund, what the funding will look like, and who will benefit from it need to be clarified. These details will be worked on after the establishment of a “transitional committee” that will make recommendations ahead of next year’s COP28. The first meeting of the committee is not expected to take place until late March 2023. It’s a great step, but doubts still remain. Other pledges such as the 2009 commitment by wealthy governments to provide $100 billion per year in climate mitigation and adaptation funding haven’t even occurred yet.
The multiple consequences of climate change threaten islands around the globe. For island communities, loss and damage represents a ray of hope and a potential turning point acknowledging the vast inequities of the climate crisis. Despite this historic agreement, COP27 ended with an expansion of carbon markets and very little progress made on other critical topics such as the phasing out of fossil fuels.
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