COP28 Activates Loss & Damage Fund, Secures Initial Pledges

The fund, aiming to finance climate crisis harm in vulnerable countries, has raised over $700m but falls short of the annual losses these countries face.

• The COP28 U.N. Climate Summit in Dubai saw countries come together to operationalize the Loss & Damage Fund, a facility designed to finance the harm incurred by vulnerable countries due to the escalating climate crisis.
• The fund, which was agreed upon at COP27, has seen initial financial pledges from the United Arab Emirates, Germany, other EU countries, the UK, the US, and Japan, totaling just over $700m.
• Despite these pledges, the fund only covers less than 0.2% of the losses developing countries face as a result of climate change annually, highlighting the need for significant contributions from both public and private finance.
• The World Bank will host the fund for an initial period of four years, despite concerns from developing countries about its independence.
• There is ongoing debate about the equity of climate crisis responsibility, with developed countries historically emitting more greenhouse gases but developing countries suffering the most from the impacts.

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