A “loss and damage fund” for developing countries that are hit by climate change has been the main agenda in the preliminary talks before COP28 (Conference of the Parties 28) in Dubai. The 2023 UN Climate Change Conference will be held from 30th November to 12th December 2023 in Dubai.
With the presence of 70 ministers in Abu Dhabi, details will be worked out before the UN Climate Summit, which is one of the most important since the landmark Paris agreement in 2015.
“The main focus for the moment is clearly the loss and damage fund,” said French Energy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Nasr, Egypt’s delegate to the talks, said almost 80 perent of the text had been agreed, while an African negotiator said that ‘real battles’ would be fought at COP28.
The agreement to establish a dedicated fund to help the vulnerable states to cope with climate challenge was a major achievement in last year’s COP27 in Egypt, but countries left the details to be worked out later.
Developing nations are demanding that negotiators at Dubai Summit nail down the fund’s operation, location, governance, contributors, and beneficiaries and a timeline for payouts. But many are skeptical of the willingness of wealthy countries to establish the fund.
The last round of negotiations in mid-October ended in failure, while the next round is scheduled from 3rd to 5th November in Abu Dhabi.
“We were one or two days away from an agreement, but disagreements on issues including beneficiaries had delayed a breakthrough,” said an European negotiator, The US is not interested in any investment if China is a potential beneficiary, the negotiator said.
