"Climate negotiators reach framework to aid vulnerable countries"

" Climate negotiators reach framework to aid vulnerable countries \r\n\r\nGlobal climate negotiators reached a framework for a fund to help vulnerable nations deal with loss and damage from increasingly extreme weather, though the breakthrough was marred by sparring over exactly how the program would be funded.\r\n\r\nDelegates meeting in Abu Dhabi agreed late Saturday that the World Bank will host a new Loss and Damage Fund on an interim basis for four years \u2014 breaking an impasse after months of negotiations. They also set basic guideposts for funding, with developed countries urged to provide support. The discussion next heads to the United Nations climate change summit known as COP28, which starts in Dubai later this month.\r\n\r\n\u201cBillions of people, lives and livelihoods who are vulnerable to the effects of climate change depend upon the adoption of this recommended approach,\u201d said Sultan Al Jaber, the president-designate of COP28. The document is \u201cclear and strong\u201d and \u201cpaves the way for agreement,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nHuman rights activists and representatives from poorer nations said they were disappointed to leave without a commitment for an immediate and significant infusion of money, and tensions now threaten to spill over into the broader climate talks. Even as the pact was reached, the lead US representative objected it didn\u2019t reflect consensus.\r\n\r\nPoor nations had sought specific language making clear the burden for funding falls on wealthy nations that built their economies by burning fossil fuels \u2014 and have released the bulk of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere today. Vulnerable nations had been reluctant to situate the fund within the World Bank amid concerns it will sufficiently prioritize climate action.\r\n\r\nThe committee \u201cdelivered on its mandate, but it was the furthest thing imaginable from a success,\u201d said Brandon Wu, director of policy and campaigns at ActionAid USA. \u201cDeveloping countries showed massive flexibility, giving concessions from the very beginning,\u201d but developed nations \u201csimply dug in their heels.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe final language doesn\u2019t demand immediate capitalization of the fund and doesn\u2019t indicate the intended scale of those contributions, said Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network-International.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe are only looking at an empty bank account,\u201d Singh said in an interview. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t go far enough to support communities who are facing climate emergencies now\u201d and address needs that \u201care already running into hundreds of billions of dollars.\u201d\r\n\r\nHuman rights activists blamed the US and other developed nations for fighting language that would specify rich, historic polluters have an obligation to pay into the fund.\r\n\r\n Still Developing \r\n\r\nSparring over where to house the fund \u201cdistracted from the actual task at hand\u201d and ensuring a fund \u201cthat would provide effective remedy for communities suffering harms from the climate crisis,\u201d said Lien Vandamme, a senior campaigner for the Center for Environmental Law.\r\n\r\nChina and Saudi Arabia had also been loathe to pay into such a fund, contending they were still developing and that countries responsible for the bulk of historical emissions should finance the initiative.\r\n\r\nAvinash Persaud, the climate envoy to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, said the island nation has reservations about the agreement he said posed \u201cmutual discomfort\u201c and was a \u201cdifficult and challenging outcome.\u201c But he stressed it nevertheless represents \u201ca positive step forward.\u201c\r\n\r\n\u201cFailure would definitely have cast a long shadow over COP,\u201c Persaud said in a phone interview.\r\n\r\nThe US successfully pushed for language making clear the fund can receive money from a wide variety of sources \u2014 keeping the door open to revenue from carbon pricing mechanisms and philanthropic donations \u2014 after arguing no single government has enough resources to deliver what\u2019s needed. But the US lost its bid for language that would have made clear contributions are purely voluntary.\r\n\r\nThe text doesn\u2019t reflect consensus concerning the need for clarity on the voluntary nature of contributions, a US State Department official said.\r\n\r\nThe fund is one of the most politically divisive issues facing the COP28 summit, and countries may adopt the framework or push to reopen the text for further changes. Developing nations were initially opposed to the World Bank hosting the facility amid a lack of confidence that the institution had shifted sufficiently to spur climate action."

"Climate negotiators reach framework to aid vulnerable countries"

DBG, Proxtera partner to provide $100m in loans digitally to Ghanaian SMEsAMP

Bolivia leads global rankings as highest risk country for cyber threats, study findsAMP

Finland tops global cyber safety rankings, outpacing major nationsAMP