A human rights-focused Loss and Damage Fund for climate change is vital to alleviate suffering

With negotiations on how to finance and manage an international Loss and Damage Fund on the brink of failure before the COP28 climate summit begins later this month, Amnesty International’s Climate Advisor Ann Harrison said:

“A functioning and effective Loss and Damage Fund which can help communities shattered by catastrophic climate events to recover is potentially a matter of life and death for people facing the severe consequences of global warming, such as droughts, floods, rising sea levels and loss of livelihoods.

“It is shameful and deeply concerning that since parties agreed to establish the Loss and Damage Fund almost a year ago at the last COP in Egypt, no consensus has yet been reached on a proposal for how it should be financed and managed. There is a last-ditch opportunity this week for members of a key working group to agree recommendations for the fund at a meeting scheduled for 3-4 November in Abu Dhabi.

“Amnesty International is calling for parties to seize this moment to reach agreement on setting up a fund which places human rights at its core. It should provide comprehensive, fast and effective remedy and redress for all harms caused by climate change to affected communities in developing countries, who are often already marginalized groups.

“Historical emitters of greenhouse gases must make the largest financial contributions to the fund, with additional funding based on the polluter pays principle. As the fund should offer grants rather than loans to avoid increasing the indebtedness of developing states, and to ensure that all developing countries in need are eligible to receive finance, it should not be run by the World Bank.”

Background

Any agreed proposal on the fund would need to be ratified at COP28, the United Nations annual climate conference, which will take place in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 30 November to 12 December. It will bring together 198 parties to address the global threat posed by climate change. Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard will attend COP28 between 1-6 December.