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Update
On November 30, 2023, countries formally operationalized the Loss and Damage Fund on the first day of COP28 in Dubai, with over $700M committed to date.
The world’s 20 wealthiest nations are responsible for nearly 80% of total greenhouse gas emissions, while all small island nations combined account for barely 1%. But while developing nations contribute very little to climate change, they often bear the greatest burden.
The climate crisis costs communities billions of dollars in damages and claims precious lives. While catastrophic storms make headlines, warming temperatures, rising sea levels, and biodiversity loss receive less attention but have an increasingly urgent and costly toll for developing nations. These countries need global support for climate-related loss and damage.
At last year’s COP27 climate conference, countries made a historic commitment to create a Loss and Damage Fund to help developing nations cope with costs related to the climate crisis. The agreement marked monumental progress, but it left many of the key details of the fund to be designed by a Transitional Committee (TC) of 24 member nations.
Leading into COP28 this December, the TC will advise on the size, structure, and governance of the fund. At COP28, countries must then all come to an agreement on the terms of the fund and formally operationalize it. It is critical that citizens from all corners of the world speak up and urge leaders to keep their commitments to launch the fund this year and support climate-vulnerable countries.
