COP 27: Rich nations rethink opposition to climate disaster compensation fund

Rich countries have resisted the notion of compensation for their part in emitting greenhouse emissions responsible for the losses and damages vulnerable countries suffered but at this year’s COP, that resolve is weakening.

Scotland, Austria, and Ireland are among countries that have made pledges towards paying for loss and damage – the concept compels rich nations to pay compensation to vulnerable states hit by disasters connected with climate change largely caused by them

COP 19 established the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage but this is the first time ever in the UN climate negotiations that loss and damage finance has made it into the agenda.

Small island nations as well as African countries that have been raising this issue for over three decades were encouraged when funding arrangements for loss and damage made it into the agenda on Sunday after initial negotiations about the agenda.

At COP 26 in Glasgow, only Scotland the host nation contributed $2.2million for loss and damages with other countries refusing to pay up.

In the face of mounting opposition by developing nations, especially African leaders who say their countries could not afford the cost of adapting to climate change and managing the disasters that accompany it, on Tuesday, some rich nations announced new pledges.

The Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, on the sidelines of the COP 27 in the resort city of Sharm el-Shiek pledge an additional $5.7 million.

“The Global South still feel that they’re having to come and plead with the rich countries to acknowledge, let alone address the issue of loss and damage for example,” Sturgeon said at a New York Times event on the sidelines of COP 27. “There is a real need to make tangible progress.”

Earlier, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, endorsed the idea of new funds for poor nations being impacted by climate change.

“The COP must make progress on minimizing and averting loss and damage from climate change,” she said while addressing other world leaders. “It is high time put this on the agenda.”

Shortly after Von der Leyen’s remarks, Micheal Martin, prime minister of Ireland, said his country was pledging $10 million to a new effort “to protect the most vulnerable from climate loss and damage.”

“The burden of climate change globally is falling most heavily on those least responsible for our predicament,” he said. “We will not see the change we need without climate justice.”

Austria joined in, with the country’s climate minister saying it would pay 50 million euros, or around $50 million, to developing countries struggling with climate impacts.

The United Nations has yet to publically state how much it would contribute towards the loss and damage fund but John Kerry, the President’s envoy on climate change said he would take up the discussion with the Biden administration. Some European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron urged the United States to revise its policy to support the fund.

Some estimates put the amount of money required for loss and damage anywhere from $290 billion to $580 billion a year by 2030, rising to $1.7 trillion by 2050, according to a study. The contribution so far is only a drop in a bucket.

However, there is no agreement yet over what should count as “loss and damage” in climate disasters. Loss and damage arising from the adverse effects of climate change can include those related to extreme weather events but also slow onset events, such as sea level rise, increasing temperatures, ocean acidification, glacial retreat and related impacts, salinization, land and forest degradation, loss of biodiversity and desertification says the United Nations.

Some of the losses are easily determined but most are hard to value including disruptions to natural ecosystems.