COP27 Introduced Loss and Damages Fund for Climate Repairs

Delegates at the climate conference of the United Nations in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt has introduced an agreement to establish a Loss and Damages fund to compensate the most vulnerable nations for the damages from climate-linked disasters, after around 40 hours of negotiation beyond the deadline.

Important questions such as who will manage the fund, whether contributions are expected from big developing countries and what the fair share of funders will be left to a transitional committee, which will make recommendations to enable the adoption of the fund at the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP).

The announcement of the Loss and Damages fund was the highlight of the long process that saw little agreement among countries on several other issues, including a call to stop all forms of fossil fuels and deliver climate finance to developing nations. The conference had seen around 45,000 participants, including indigenous peoples, cities, civil society, and local communities, children and young people.

Sameh Shoukry, president of COP27, said that they heard the calls, and they have established the first-ever dedicated fund for the loss and damages, a fund that taken a lot of time in the making. It was appropriate that this COP27, is where the fund is established.

Simon Stiell, Climate Change Executive Secretary of the United Nations, said that this outcome will move them forward, and they have determined a way forward on funding for loss and damage that deliberates over how they address the impacts on communities whose livelihoods have been affected by the worst impacts of climate change.