COP27 summit brews fight over climate change compensation

Apprehensions are soaring ahead of the UN climate summit this year, as weak economies have reportedly increased their demands for prosperous nations to compensate the world’s poor for losses induced by climate change.

Negotiations about cutting down CO2 emissions leading to climate change and getting through the current climate implications such as fatal wildfires, heatwaves, rising seas, and drought will take place on November 7 when delegates of about 200 nations meet in Sharm El Sheikh’s beachside resort town in Egypt.

However, another topic likely to take up the discussions is “damage and loss,” or destruction of properties, livelihoods, and infrastructure due to climate change in the most impoverished nations that have made the slightest contributions toward global warming.

As per the UN, only 1% of the yearly CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning are produced by the 46 least developed nations in the world, which are home to 14% of the total population across the globe.

Climate damages are escalating in both affluent and impoverished nations as COP27 nears. Wildfires have consumed huge expanses of land recently in Morocco, Canada, and Greece. Vineyards in Italy have been destroyed by drought, and China and Gambia have been affected by deadly floods.

In addition, wealthy nations fell short of their commitment to providing $100 billion annually by 2020 to assist developing nations in reducing emissions and be prepared for climate change. Payments for losses and damages would be made in addition to those $100 billion.

Taking up loss and damage finances into the COP27 debate has become a bone of content as the recommendation of adding the same to the motive has not gained much support.

The issue was not brought up at the pre-COP27 negotiations held in Bonn, Germany, in June where discussions regarding UN technical assistance as a consequence for damage and loss knocked off without an accord due to conflicts over the implementation of the scheme.

The COP27 will not be a piece of cake as wealthy economies’ public finances will be tightened by growing energy costs, the economic fallout from the Ukraine crisis and the COVID-19 outbreak, which forced rich nations to spend a humongous amount of money to ramp up their economy.

Source credit: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sustainability/climate-change-compensation-fight-brews-ahead-cop27-summit-2866346