With about three months to go until the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 28, crunch talks tasked with agreeing a climate loss and damage fund have ended with governments in disagreement about key ideas for the institution.
What the fund should do, who should pay into it, who should receive money from it, governing principles, funding targets, and even the name remain areas of division among countries. Proposals on the fund were published at the meeting, which began in the Dominican Republic on Aug. 29, by various countries, bringing rifts into the light of day. A document by co-chairs of the talks summarizing all the different ideas runs to 21 pages.
“We insist on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full range of loss and damage — from slow onset impacts to recovery and rehabilitation from extreme events,” said chair of the Least Developed Countries group, Madeleine Diouf Sarr. “Loss and damage is not just an environmental setback; it’s unraveling decades of development efforts. Our future hinges on immediate, substantial, and sustained financial commitments.”