Climate experts were impressed by the talks held on the first day of COP28 in Dubai on Thursday, as almost all countries completed the establishment of a fund to assist in compensating those that are more vulnerable to the loss and damage brought on by climate change.
The United Arab Emirates would contribute $100 million to the fund, which was hailed as “the first decision to be adopted on Day One of any COP” by Sultan al-Jaber, the president of the COP28 climate conference. Germany was among the other nations who made significant commitments, contributing $100 million as well.
Historically, developing countries have worked to address the issue of insufficient funding for responding to climate-related disasters caused by climate change, which particularly affected them but for which they bear little responsibility. Historically, the majority of carbon emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere have come from industrialised nations.
Promising remarks made moments after the fund was approved, according to Joe Thwaites, senior advocate at the Natural Resources Defence Council, were “unprecedented.”
Avinash Persaud, Barbados’ special climate envoy who participated in the discussions to close the fund, applauded the agreement but noted that a sizeable sum of money would need to be contributed.
The director of IDDRI’s climate programme, Lola Vallejo, called the fund’s establishment on the first day of COP28 “a great and very constructive start,” but she noted that it left open issues regarding eligibility and financing sustainability.
Many details regarding the “loss and damage fund,” including its size and long-term administrator, remained unresolved even after Thursday’s agreement.
