What's in a name? US seeks to rebrand climate 'loss and damage' fund

The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 28, in Dubai scored an early win when countries agreed to operationalize a new fund for “loss and damage” due to climate change on the very first day. But that spirit of cooperation could prove short-lived, as climate activists accuse negotiators from the United States of trying to strip the phrase “loss and damage” from the new fund’s name. They say U.S. negotiators are pushing a more neutral label that does not carry the same suggestion that high-emitting countries have a responsibility to provide funding to address the harms caused by climate change. For example, speaking in Dubai last week, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry repeatedly referred to a “fund for climate impact response,” rather than using the phrase “loss and damage” — even rewording questions from reporters to reflect the preferred phrasing. While this might seem trivial, climate advocates say that when it comes to the worsening impacts of climate change — and how countries should be supported to deal with them — words matter. “By not calling it a ‘Loss and Damage Fund’ you’re trying to downplay the significance of financing for addressing loss and damage,” Liane Schalatek, associate director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Washington, D.C., a German policy think tank, said in a press briefing at COP 28 last week. The competing language sets up an early battle for the fund’s governing board, which will be assembled early next year. It also reflects a long-standing fight over the issue of liability and financial obligations as lower-income countries that have contributed least to climate change experience many of its worst impacts. In 2022, higher-income countries finally met their overdue commitment to provide $100 billion in annual climate finance to lower-income countries by 2020 — though many climate campaigners complain they did so by overusing loans that have to be paid back. Climate finance is critical for supporting lower-income countries to pursue lower-emissions development strategies, adapt to climate change, and rebound from climate-related disasters. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has taken criticism for only contributing $17.5 million in the initial round of pledges for the new loss and damage fund. Germany and the United Arab Emirates both announced $100 million in funding. The roughly $700 million raised for the fund so far is widely seen as startup funding — while its future efforts to actually address climate-induced loss and damage will require orders of magnitude more. The agreement forged at COP 28 will see the new fund hosted on a four-year interim basis by the World Bank, which is expected to serve as a trustee, not as a direct manager of the fund’s operations. That four-year period will only begin next year, however, as the fund works through a wide range of basic decisions about how it will work — including what its official name should be. Speaking to reporters, Kerry said the U.S. funding was just an initial contribution to “empower it to stand up.” He did not share any concrete details about plans to contribute more in the future and noted that other countries and even private individuals can contribute to the fund if they want to. In his comments last week, Kerry also never used the phrase “loss and damage.” “So now we have a fund for climate impact response, and I think it's already got a certain amount of money to help stand it up,” Kerry said on Dec. 6. When a reporter asked about contributions to the “loss and damage fund,” Kerry even rephrased the question. “For climate impact?” he clarified. The subtle rewording marked a shift from just one week prior, when Kerry repeatedly referred to “loss and damage” in comments to reporters before the climate conference began. “Needless to say, because of what Mother Nature has been screaming at us about over the past year particularly with the losses and damages and amazing impacts around the world, I think people all over the world have high hopes for this COP, as I do,” Kerry said on Nov. 29. “We’ve worked hard to deal with the standing up of the loss and damage fund,” he added. The U.S. State Department did not respond to an inquiry from Devex. The phrase loss and damage “clearly indicates that it's a failure of mitigation and adaptation,” Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International, told Devex. The failure to adequately reduce emissions has led to worsening climate change impacts. The failure to provide adequate support for countries to adapt to climate change is resulting in increasing harms that cannot be eased by changes in behavior, technology, or infrastructure. The result is loss and damage. “Retaining those words at least communicates that the harm has been caused because of inaction,” Singh said.