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- Currently — November 8, 2023: Pour one out for the loss and damage fund
Currently — November 8, 2023: Pour one out for the loss and damage fund
The US has profoundly weakened the UN-sponsored fund designed to aid climate vulnerable countries.
Eric Holthaus
November 07, 2023
The weather, currently.
A new fund will be established to pay for the “loss and damage” caused by climate change in poorer countries — but will be far weaker than hoped after a major setback this past weekend in Abu Dhabi. The disappointment is casting an increasingly worrying shadow over the upcoming COP28 climate conference in Dubai.
A last-minute objection by the US delegation to the consensus text forced a change in the funding mechanism that only “urged” rich countries to contribute to the new fund, but didn’t require them.
“It is a sombre day for climate justice, as rich countries turn their backs on vulnerable communities. [This] falls short of providing vulnerable communities with adequate assurance that their financial needs for coping with climate impacts and rebuilding their lives will be met.”
Still up for discussion in the run-up to Dubai: Whether or not world countries will agree to a binding “phase out” of fossil fuels globally, and the first official check-up or “stocktake” on how the world’s efforts at reducing climate change has progressed since 2015 in Paris. Spoiler alert: not well.
What you can do, currently.
While we’re gearing up for some exciting announcements next week(!!), a quick shout out to all of Currently’s local weather newsletter writers — they cover the weather daily with charm and loads of regional weather knowledge — check them out!
Currently has begun to partner with other like-minded newsletters to help the growth of independent climate media — we receive financial support for each new subscriber we can recruit, so check them out!
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