Delegates at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 achieved a groundbreaking milestone on its opening day by formalizing an agreement to operationalize the loss and damage fund and associated funding arrangements.
UN Climate Chief Simon Stiell, addressing the press during the announcement, remarked, “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.”
Numerous countries made substantial financial commitments to the fund, pledging millions of dollars to assist nations disproportionately impacted by the escalating climate crisis. The fund represents a longstanding demand of developing nations grappling with the economic toll of severe weather events such as droughts, floods, and rising seas.
After years of rigorous negotiations at annual UN climate meetings, developed nations officially expressed their support for establishing the fund during COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Sultan al-Jaber, the President of the COP28 climate conference, announced that the United Arab Emirates would contribute $100 million to the fund. Germany also pledged a substantial amount of $100 million, with the United States and Japan joining in announcing their contributions.
The Dubai COP marks the culmination of the ‘Global Stocktake,’ evaluating progress on key provisions of the Paris accord, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction, climate resilience building, and financial support for vulnerable countries. Representatives from the 198 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are expected to agree on responses to the first Global Stocktake, revealing the world’s insufficient progress toward limiting global warming to well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C. The Global Stocktake synthesis report, published earlier this year, emphasized the urgent need for a “system transformation” on all fronts.
COP28 commenced amid unprecedented warnings that the world’s temperature is rising at an alarming and uncontrollable rate.
