Dubai, CMC: The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) has gotten off to a surprise start with a delegate approving the long-awaited fund to pay for damage from climate-driven storms and drought on the opening day of the two-week event here.
This usually happens at the end of a COP after days and nights of wrangling. UN climate chief Simon Stiell
Loss and damage refer to the impacts many countries suffer from climate-related weather events. While funding has been provided to help countries adapt to rising temperatures and to aid their efforts to rein in their emissions, more money has yet to be forthcoming to help with the destruction caused by storms and droughts.
COP28 president Sultan al-Jaber” said, “We have delivered history today,” as the motion was passed without a fight.
“Today’s news on loss and damage gives this UN climate conference a running start. All governments and negotiators must use this momentum to deliver ambitious outcomes here in Dubai,” said UN climate chief Simon Stiell during a press conference at which the announcement was made.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also welcomed the operationalization of the fund, calling it an essential tool to deliver climate justice. He urged leaders to support the fund and get COP28 off to a strong start.
The fund has been a long-standing demand of developing nations on the frontlines of climate change, coping with the cost of the devastation caused by ever-increasing extreme weather events such as drought, floods, and rising seas.
Following several years of intense negotiations at annual UN climate meetings, developed nations extended their support for the need to set up the fund last year during COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Germany pledged US$100 million, while the United States said it would pay US$17 million, provided it can find agreement with Congress.
Earlier, Stiell, the former senior Grenada government minister and UNFCCC executive secretary warned that the world is taking “baby steps” in the face of a terrifying planetary climate crisis that requires bold action.
“We are taking baby steps and stepping far too slowly to work out the best responses to the complex climate impacts we face,” he told delegates gathered for COP28.
The UN climate chief’s warning came just hours after the UN weather agency, known as WMO, issued a provisional report saying that this has “shattered” climate records accompanied by extreme weather, which has left a trail of devastation and despair.
“This has been the hottest year ever for humanity. So many terrifying records were broken,” he said, adding, We are playing with people’s lives and livelihoods,” Stiell said.”
“Science tells us we have around six years before we exhaust the planet’s ability to cope with our emissions. Before we blow through the 1.5-degree limit,” he warned, referring to one of the keystone targets under the landmark Paris Agreement.
Stiell called on countries to deliver ambitious new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), or national climate action plans where every commitment in 2025 – on finance, adaptation, and mitigation – must align with a 1.5-degree world.
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