Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025

Climate emergency: Will polluting rich nations pay reparations?

Climate emergency: Will polluting rich nations pay reparations?

At COP27, negotiators and civil society groups will lobby not just for more money on the table, but also new avenues for capital to make a faster impact.

After decades of slow progress on climate action, with political leaders dragging their heels on finance or debating whether climate change is even real, this year’s extreme weather proved a stark reminder that the world has reached some of the tipping points climate scientists have been warning us about.

The deaths of more than 1,700 people in Pakistan’s floods as well as the 4,000 casualties caused by drought and floods across the African continent are only some of the dire events that will shape the conversation around climate finance, and in particular around climate reparations, at the upcoming COP27 climate summit in Egypt.

Had countries worked harder to mitigate their carbon emissions and improve their adaptation strategies, some of these casualties may have been avoided, says Saleemul Huq, director at the Bangladesh-based International Centre for Climate Change and Development.

“But unfortunately, we have not done enough,” he says. “When people are losing their lives, their livelihoods and their homes, then adaptation is not possible any more.”

According to research by the NGO Oxfam, the need for financial aid after weather disasters has risen eight-fold compared with 20 years ago, and the funding shortfall is ever increasing.

Oxfam calculates a gap of up to $33bn over the past five years, a number dwarfed by the cost of “loss and damage” after recent disasters such as the 2021 Europe floods, which caused damage worth $45bn, or the 2017 Hurricane Maria that wiped out the equivalent of 226 percent of Dominica’s gross domestic product (GDP).

A man carries some belongings as he wades through floodwaters in Jaffarabad, a flood-hit district of Balochistan province, Pakistan


Researchers in Spain have estimated that by 2040, the cost of loss and damage for developing countries alone could reach $1 trillion. Who foots the bill is a question the rich economies responsible for the bulk of past emissions, and for current global warming, have been resolutely avoiding for years.

But things may change at the COP27 summit from November 6-18.

In September, representatives of 30 negotiating groups under the United Nations climate change framework held a meeting focused on the issue of loss and damage, the diplomatic term used to indicate the irreparable environmental damages caused by extreme climate impacts.

The delegates succeeded in including finance for loss and damage in this year’s COP provisional agenda, to discuss aspects such as timeline, scope and placement of finance, as well as potential sources and eligibility criteria to receive support.


Countries ‘uncomfortable’


Last year, the climate talks held in the United Kingdom fell short of delivering a financial facility for loss and damage, something a group of 134 developing nations (known as G77) plus China now intends to fight for under the leadership of Pakistan.

The issue of finance for climate reparations was not even on the COP26 agenda, explains Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy with the NGO Climate Action Network (CAN) International. Historically, loss and damage has been addressed as a form of adaptation, although the Paris Agreement flags it as a separate issue.

“Countries were so uncomfortable with [the idea of monetary compensation] that even just putting [loss and damage] on the website was not acceptable to them, and were using the excuse that the Paris Agreement was not yet operational to avoid the conversation,” says Singh.

A COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh


After last year, when a rulebook was signed off to guide the implementation of the Paris Agreement, Singh says, the argument will not stand any more, and finance for loss and damage is expected to feature for the first time ever in the COP final agenda.

While this is an historic step, “not even the most optimistic person will believe that we will get a finance facility approved and all of its procedures decided”, says Nisha Krishnan, a climate resilience expert with the non-profit World Resources Institute Africa.

If the financial facility is approved this year, “it’s going to be up to parties to negotiate its design, especially by developing countries”, she says.

“I think that inclusive process matters, because otherwise there would be no legitimacy to this facility.”

At the earliest, this work would start in the next round of climate talks, kicking off a years-long process before any finance reaches affected communities on the ground.

While climate diplomacy can only progress slowly in order to create consensus and build robust policy frameworks, the frequency and severity of climate-led disasters are only accelerating.



‘Substantive discussions’ needed


This is why at COP27, negotiators and civil society groups will lobby not just to see more money on the table, but also to open up new avenues for capital to circulate faster and make an impact.

The Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance is one such example, set up in March 2021 to help simplify and speed up access to finance for developing countries.

Bangladesh, Fiji, Jamaica, Rwanda and Uganda volunteered to take part in the experimental phase of the programme, the results of which should be assessed this year. Krishnan also mentions the Santiago Network for loss and damage, set up in 2019 to help countries access technical assistance to address climate devastation.

“[The Santiago Network] still needs to be operationalised, it still doesn’t have a governance structure,” she explains.

When it comes to the official negotiations, in addition to the main goal of setting up a facility for loss and damage finance, Krishnan says, “there could be special windows opened in under existing funds, including a substantiation of the Glasgow Dialogue”, a forum established last year to discuss irreparable environmental degradation, currently with a broad, detail-thin mandate.

“Right now, the worry is that the Glasgow Dialogue will remain just that, a dialogue with no result in sight,” Krishnan says.

“Is there an outcome that can be mandated? Can there be more substantive discussions instead of meeting once a year? These are some of the things we would want to see coming out of COP27.”



Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
HSBC Accelerates Chairman Succession as Mark Tucker Prepares Departure
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Cristina Kirchner Requests House Arrest Citing Assassination Risk
Beata Thunberg Rebrands as Beata Ernman Amidst Sister's Activism Controversy
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Black Box Recovered from Air India Crash Site
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
UK and EU Reach New Economic Agreement
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Two Women Found Dead in Eryri National Park
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Pentagon Initiates Review of AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Pact
×