Cop 27 loss and damage committee agrees next steps

The transitional committee set up to work out the details of the loss and damage funding agreed at the UN Cop 27 summit has adopted a work plan, with the aim of reaching a "consensus outcome" ahead of Cop 28.

Loss and damage was the overriding topic at Cop 27. It refers to the unavoidable and most destructive effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels, and is a priority for vulnerable and often developing countries.

The committee's work plan "sets out key substantive and procedural milestones and steps to be taken towards the delivery of recommendations to Cop 28", the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said. The committee has also added a fourth meeting to its work schedule this year and plans to reach an outcome around a month before Cop 28, the UNFCCC added. The next meeting will be in May.

"I think it was a good meeting. I think it was a very good outcome", Mohamed Nasr, lead negotiator for Cop 27 host Egypt, said. Parties agreed a work plan and reiterated that "a fund is part of the funding arrangement", he said. The latter was a sticking point for much of Cop 27, as some parties argued instead for a "mosaic" of funding arrangements rather than a dedicated fund.

But the process is in the early stages, with the committee yet to identify gaps in funding or work on the possible structure of a fund. Nasr could not confirm that a fund would be up and running by Cop 28. The question of who will pay into a fund is likely to dominate Cop 28. Talks at Cop 27 revolved around a 1992 list — dating from the establishment of the UNFCCC — of developed economies, but the EU noted that economic circumstances had changed significantly in the past three decades. Some parties called for heavy emitters, such as China, India and oil producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, to pay into a fund, while the EU suggested contributions from oil and gas companies.

The transitional committee has 24 members, which represent all regions, and is co-chaired by representatives from South Africa and Finland. It is responsible for putting into operation the new funding arrangements for loss and damage and "the fund for consideration and adoption" at Cop 28, set to run from 30 November-12 December in Dubai.

The committee also has a technical support unit, consisting of staff seconded from UN agencies, international financial institutions, multilateral development banks and "the operating entities of the financial mechanism", the UNFCCC said.

By Georgia Gratton