- Climate Disaster Fund talks averted deadlocks before United Nations COP28.
- World Bank to serve as interim fund custodian for “loss and damage fund”.
Over the weekend, negotiators avoided a deadlock in talks for a new climate disaster fund ahead of the United Nations COP28 climate summit later this month. The fifth meeting of a 24-member United Nations committee in Abu Dhabi concluded with support for a take-it-or-leave-it deal, naming the World Bank as the interim fund custodian.
The proposed “loss and damage fund” would be the first United Nations mechanism to assist nations suffering irreparable climate-related damage. It aims to direct billions of dollars to “vulnerable” countries. After months of contentious discussions, negotiators crafted fund recommendations for approval by nearly 200 governments at the annual United Nations climate summit, COP28, from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai.
Developing and developed countries claimed they made significant concessions to avoid a failure that could have cast a shadow over COP28, where governments will face pressure to reach agreements on phasing out fossil fuels and boosting climate action funding.