A deal struck at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Egypt to create a “loss and damage” fund to help countries vulnerable to climate change marked a historic breakthrough in the decadeslong battle to get high-income countries, whose economic growth fueled the climate crisis, to compensate their lower-income counterparts that are now paying the price for it.
“Support for these countries, who contribute the least to global heating, but bear the brunt of its worst effects, has long been overdue,” U.N. Development Programme Administrator Achim Steiner said in a statement.
Nearly 200 nations came to an agreement in the early hours of Sunday morning in a dramatic turn of events after two weeks of otherwise lackluster negotiations at the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
