Talk about starting with bang! The Presidency set an initial signpost themself, into showing their resource commitment cards and making some initial pledges, cajoled a handful of developed countries to match them. ECO cautiously congratulates the UAE presidency for achieving an unprecedented feat of adopting a big decision on day 1. While the decision on the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund is historic, let’s be honest, this is not the fund the times and affected communities are calling for.
ECO has some serious concerns regarding the lack of scale, reference to equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (because hey, loss and damage is the result of serious climate inaction by the biggest polluters). The language was weakened by the developed countries to dilute their responsibility as those who have contributed the most.
Where are the needed human rights guidelines, a clear replenishment cycle, and the shared governance with frontline communities and civil society needed to ensure the fund is fit for purpose? Critically they are missing from the Fund.
And then there’s the decision to set up the Fund Secretariat under the World Bank. ECO knows this risks undermining the Fund’s ability to empower communities who need it the most with direct access to its resources, by hosting it in an institution that doesn’t have a real framework or history of providing remedies and support to harmed communities – and on the contrary through continued, policy advice and own investments perpetuate the fossil fuel driven growth approach that causes losses and damages in the first place.
Then there is the history of the World Bank’s largely loan-driven provision of climate finance while continuing to fund fossil fuels. ECO is here to remind you that we cannot allow this Fund to turn into a vehicle for indebting vulnerable countries and furthering injustice in addressing a crisis they did not create. Financing must be public and in the form of grants so as not to increase countries’ debt. Current over indebtedness is unsustainable and deepens vulnerability to climate change.
Moreover, the pledges of $412.5 million announced yesterday, while getting the Fund over the starting line for being set up under the World Bank (there was a minimum required), do not reflect the reality of the climate crisis on ground nor are they at the scale needed.
It is clear that while we cherish the small victory, real success and the delivery of climate justice is still far away. (ECO is sad that we can’t even call the fund by its proper name.) ECO is here to remind you that this doesn’t mean you all get to go home or relax by a pool. There’s more work to be done on loss and damage here in Dubai, and COP28 must address the current shortcomings of the Loss and Damage Fund through getting strong language and mandates on financing loss and damage into the decisions on the Global Stocktake, the New Collective Quantified Goal for Climate Finance and the Cover Decision. And let’s not forget, to avoid ever-increasing loss and damage, COP28 must also deliver on the commitment to turn off fossil fuels’ spigot for good.
More Fossil Fuels = More Loss and Damage
And yes, ECO will be watching beyond the COP as well. Civil society stands ready to make sure that the Loss and Damage Fund Board establishes a participative process and holds the World Bank accountable for meeting the conditions set forth as part of a huge compromise package and concession by developing countries to deliver some financial resources to their countries and frontline communities. The hard work begins now and ECO will only be able to pop the champagne bottle once the Fund truly delivers climate justice to frontline communities.