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Eventually, rich countries agreed to pay for the loss fueled by climate change, they caused.

Eventually, rich countries agreed to pay for the loss fueled by climate change, they caused.

Eventually, rich countries agreed to pay for the loss fueled by
climate change, they caused


Ministers deliver statements during the closing plenary at the COP27 climate summit in Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 20.

A historic agreement was reached at the UN COP27 summit under
which rich countries will compensate poor countries for damages and economic
losses caused by climate change.

It ends decades of
resistance from wealthy nations whose historic emissions have fueled climate
change. The summit began two weeks ago with powerful statements from vulnerable
countries. "We will not give up," said Bahamas Prime Minister Philip
Davis.

After 48 hours of tense
and often chaotic negotiations the Egyptian COP27 presidency released the final
text for an agreement and convened a plenary session to finalize it soon.

The session first approved
text provision establishing a "loss and damage" fund to help
developing countries bear the immediate costs of climate-fueled events such as
hurricanes and floods.

But the text of the
agreement leaves open a number of crucial details to be worked out next year
and beyond, when a “transitional committee” would make recommendations for
countries to then adopt at the COP28 climate summit in November 2023
“identifying and expanding sources of funding”.

In the United Nations
climate negotiations, "loss and damage" refers to impacts caused by
climate extremes such as sea level rise.

But there is still no
agreement on what constitutes "loss and damage" caused by climate
change, including damage to infrastructure and property as well as damage to
natural ecosystems or cultural property.

A report of 55 vulnerable
countries estimated their combined climate-related losses at $525 billion, or
20 percent of their combined GDP, over the past two decades. Some research
suggests that such losses could reach $580 billion annually by 2030.

Until now, climate
finance has mainly focused on reducing carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to
stop global warming, while around one-third of it helps communities adapt to
future impacts.

On loss and damage, the
parties decided to establish new funding arrangements to support developing
countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate
change. This includes a new fund that will focus on addressing damage and loss,
which will be established by an interim committee that will also consider
expanding funding sources.

World welcomes 'major
step' as rich nations adopt COP27 deal with 'loss and damage' fund.

On Sunday, Antigua and
Barbuda environment minister Molwyn Joseph, and chair of the Alliance of Small
Island States, said the deal was a "win for the entire world" and
"restored global faith in this critical process dedicated to ensuring no
one is left behind".

On Sunday, Pakistan's
Climate Minister Sherry Rehman, who negotiated the deal for developing
countries and China's bloc, told reporters she was very happy with the deal.

"I believe we have
made a turning point in how we work together to achieve climate goals,"
she said.

The floods in the
vulnerable country of Pakistan this summer killed nearly 1,700 people and
caused an estimated $40 billion in damages, are a powerful backdrop to the
summit.

Prime Minister of
Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the development as the “first pivotal step
towards the goal of climate justice”.

































“It is up to
the transitional committee to build on the historic development,” he said. The
premier also thanked Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman and her team for
their hard work.





He said the development was a “manifestation of excellent climate
diplomacy that made this possible”.

 




On Twitter, Rehman said it had been a "long 30-year journey
from demand to formation of the loss and damage fund for 134 countries”.



"We
welcome today’s announcement and joint text hammered out through many nights.
It’s an important first step in reaffirming the core principles of
#climatejustice."




 

Rehman also specially thanked PM Shehbaz and Foreign Minister
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for “checking in daily after they left Sharm El Sheikh
to see where they needed to intervene to help the negotiations”.



“Such solid
support kept many of us going just when we thought it’s touch and go,” she
said.






FM Bilawal also hailed the “monumental achievement” for climate
justice as he congratulated the Egyptian leadership on successfully holding the
summit.



“Having experienced
first-hand the scale and devastation of Pakistan’s floods, we travelled to the
United Nations General Assembly to advocate for climate justice,” he said in a
series of tweets. 





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