Questions remain over eligibility for support from the fund, including the 1992 definition of a ‘developing' country, writes Georgia Gratton
Tackling the question of loss and damage — finding money for countries already suffering the irreversible effects of climate change — will be key to making a success of the forthcoming Cop 28 summit. But as the failure of preparatory talks this month made clear, prospects are not good, with richer and poorer nations still at odds on several important points.
The UNFCCC's transitional committee on loss and damage met in Egypt last week for supposedly the fourth and final time ahead of Cop 28 to agree recommendations on the loss and damage fund agreed in principle at Cop 27. But it made little progress on key issues, including who should pay in and who should benefit, and another meeting has now been hastily convened for early November.
The discord in Egypt reflects deeper political divisions and underlines the difficulties of reaching consensus when Cop negotiators gather in Dubai at the end of November. The committee's failure "is a clear indication of the deep chasm between rich and poor nations", says Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network, a global alliance of climate campaign groups.
Disagreement was evident in a number of areas. On eligible beneficiaries, developing nations insist that the fund is accessible to all such countries, while developed countries suggest the fund should primarily serve "particularly vulnerable" countries, such as the least developed and small island developing states. The UNFCCC — the UN's climate body — works from a list of developed and developing countries drawn up in 1992. But as the EU argued last year at Cop 27, economic circumstances have changed since then, meaning some hitherto "developing" and high-emitting nations should be asked to contribute.
Developed countries also want the fund to be hosted by the World Bank, while developing countries want it to sit within the UNFCCC. Nor was there any agreement on how much money is needed, although one proposal suggested an "initial commitment" of at least $100bn/yr by 2030.
Lack of trust
The loss and damage discussions are part of a wider debate over climate finance, which has dominated recent rounds of UN climate talks. Progress on mitigation — cutting emissions — has ground to a halt, as developing countries call for meaningful funds to tackle climate change.
UN-approved observers — typically allowed into otherwise closed climate negotiations — have highlighted the lack of trust developing nations have in wealthy, developed countries delivering on their financial commitments. Resentment is rooted in the fact these rich, industrialised countries are responsible for the bulk of global emissions, while developing countries are often the ones that find themselves on the frontline of climate change.
All this makes progress at Cop challenging, even before considering the geopolitical backdrop. Cop 27 was overshadowed by the Ukraine war, which has driven security up the energy agenda at the expense of decarbonisation. The Israel-Hamas violence, stoking fears of a wider conflict in a key energy-producing region, could now push climate further down policy makers' list of priorities.
Cop 28 president Sultan al-Jaber has sought to keep the focus on the loss and damage fund, reminding the committee that "billions of people… depend upon the successful delivery of these recommendations". A lot now rests on the committee's "final" meeting in Abu Dhabi next week. As Preety Bhandari, senior adviser for the World Resources Institute's global climate programme notes: "If committee members cannot reach common ground at the final gathering… we are destined for very rocky negotiations in Dubai."
