Pacific leaders and negotiators who are in Sharma El-Sheikh, Egypt, for COP27 must be united with one voice to secure concrete steps towards the establishment of a Loss and Damage (L&D) Financing Facility.
Midway through the first week of the world’s biggest meeting on the state of the environment, the Pacific’s political champion on L&D and Tuvalu’s Minister of Finance, Hon. Seve Paeniu, said the inclusion of Loss and Damage on the official agenda of COP27 is an “opening to push our case.”
However, he has also cautioned about obstacles in the way of the establishment of a financing facility to aid the plight of Pacific countries at the forefront of the climate crisis.
“What I’m hearing now from the other parties is that they are really shying away from any mention of a special response fund. They want a GAP analysis, they want to see what’s out there, not only within the Paris Agreement but broadly in the multilaterals, and then only then will they be prepared to sit down and discuss whether there is justification for the establishment of a special fund for loss and damage,” Hon. Paeniu said, speaking on the sidelines of COP27.
This is not acceptable, according to the Tuvaluan Minister, who said the establishment of a Loss and Damage Facility is justified and needs to be mobilised as soon as possible for the survival of communities, like all countries in the Pacific, who are at the forefront of climate change.
“We know what loss and damage is in our part of the world, we are living the impact of climate change. The losses and damage is wreaking havoc in our communities so there is no question for us on what is loss and damage,” he said.
Hon. Paeniu said he finds it disturbing that other parties are arguing that loss and damage is part and parcel of general adaption and the financial mechanism under GCF caters for that.
“This is not our view. Our view is that there is an existing gap in the funding arrangement, that is why we are fighting to establish a dedicated special fund,” he said.
The history of loss and damage in climate change negotiations dates back to 1991 when the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) called for a mechanism that would compensate countries affected by sea level rise. Over time, more and more vulnerable countries realised that they too are affected by climate change that is beyond their coping capacities. The idea of a mechanism that would help them in addressing loss and damage gained wider support. The concept of loss and damage made it into a decision coming out of a COP when in 2010 the loss and damage work programme was initiated at COP16.
A decade later, while the big greenhouse gas emitters have committed to talk about it, there is very little hope of something concrete happening in Sharma El-Sheikh. Hon. Paeniu said this should not discourage Pacific negotiators from pushing the issue.
“We came out of Glasgow quite disappointed last year because the decision in the outcome document was watered down right at the last minute, from having a language pertaining to the establishment of financing facility for Loss and Damage to the Glasgow Dialogue on funding arrangements for Loss and Damage,” Hon. Paeniu said.
“Coming to this COP, we are comforted that it has been adopted as part of the formal agenda, I think that is an opening for us to push through our case. However there is a catch to it, there is a footnote to that sub-agenda item whereby there is an expectation for no discussion on liability and compensation. This should not detract us from pushing our case through.”
So what should Pacific leaders and negotiators do?
“First and foremost, we must continue our fight to establish a dedicated special response fund for loss and damage,” said the L&D Political champion.
“We need to get an agreement in commitment for a work programme that will look to develop the process, procedures and modalities for this special fund for the next couple of years. If we can get that agreement in this COP, a commitment to develop the modalities for this special fund over the next two years, that will be a major breakthrough and a step forward.
“Our key objective at this COP is for the next two years to work out the details of that special fund, and we can also work with the other parties to address their concerns.”
For that to happen, the Tuvalu Minister of Finance said a united voice from the Pacific is extremely important.
“We should be united in our voice and our fight that we know what loss and damage is because we are at the frontline of the impact of climate change and sea level rise. We need the money now, not three years down the road or ten years down the track. We know very well these multilateral processes will just keep going without any concrete results, when we have already been severely impacted and our people are already suffering.”
Loss and damage is not a new ask. Developing countries and small island states have been pressing for these kinds of funds since 1991, when the Pacific island Vanuatu first proposed a plan for high-emitting countries to funnel money toward those impacted by sea level rise.
The 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP27) is being held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from 6 to 18 November 2022.
It is being attended by Pacific leaders and their delegations, who are advocating for their survival. The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is lead of the One CROP, working together to provide support to Pacific Islands.
