First meeting to finance loss and damage in Egypt
The COP 27 Presidency is organising the first meeting of the Transition Committee for Loss and Damage Financing from 27 to 29 March in Luxor, Egypt. The aim of the two days is to focus on action and support for developing countries, countries particularly vulnerable to climate change.
Preceded by two days of informal discussions to support and train the members of the Transition Committee, this meeting comes in the context of the new funding agreements presented at COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh. For three days 24 members of the Parties to the Convention and the Paris Agreement meet to discuss the operationalization of the new loss and damage financing mechanisms and the associated fund.
A crucial fund
At COP27, members of the United Nations Framework Convention endorsed the idea of creating a loss and damage fund for the first time in the history of the climate conference, which has lasted for nearly three decades. This fund aims to help developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Members of the Transition Committee meet in Luxor to make recommendations for consideration and adoption at COP28 in December 2023.
“There is a high expectation of progress towards the operationalization of the relevant fund and all the other elements that make up the mandate of this committee,” says Sameh Shoukry, President of COP 27.
Funding the response to loss and damage was a historic outcome at COP27, and the Egyptian Presidency said they planned to continue monitoring the implementation of the Sharm El Sheikh results. Members of the Transition Committee hold their first meeting less than a week after the release of the latest IPCC synthesis report which confirmed that losses and damage could most likely be more devastating and more frequent, with an uneven impact on developing countries.
Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of the Climate Action Network International, and one of the climate negotiations observers welcomed the meeting’s initiative.
« It is now time for the transitional committee meeting in Egypt to get the ball rolling and make this a truly progressive, transparent and accountable fund to urgently respond to the needs of those on the frontline of the climate crisis, » she said.
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