Her Excellency Maisa Rojas Corradi, Chilean Minister of Environment, sent a letter to ecbi Director Professor Benito Müller, thanking him for his efforts and support in moving forward the discussion among delegates on financing for loss and damage which she was co-facilitating at ministerial level. In her letter, dated 28 December 2022, Rojas Corradi acknowledges the importance of his engagement with respect to the “complex negotiations” on the issue at COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, in November. The discussions led to a Decision on “funding arrangements for responding to loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change”. Going into COP 27, many thought such an outcome would have been impossible given the issue was not even on the agenda initially. The decision taken against all odds has been widely hailed in the media as “historic” as developing countries have for years been calling for a global fund to respond to loss and damages incurred as a result of climate change. Going forward, the details of such funding arrangements will have to be hammered out. In a recent Note, Professor Müller highlights the need for piloting innovative funding sources and innovative response tools and offers some suggestions of how to do this under the new funding arrangements.

Selected Media Coverage (20 November 2022)

The Guardian: Cop27 agrees historic ‘loss and damage’ fund for climate impact in developing countries
Al Jazeera: Historic ‘loss and damage’ fund adopted at COP27 climate summit

Time: Historic Deal Struck at COP27 to Create Loss and Damage Fund for Poor Nations (re-published on DNYUZ)