CNN: Climate issues take a back seat to the economic downturn and war in Ukraine

CNN: Climate issues take a back seat to the economic downturn and war in Ukraine

The past week has given the world a glimpse of what climate-vulnerable countries have long known: while rich countries bend over backwards to pledge their support for climate action, they are far less enthusiastic when it comes to forking over the cash.

At the UN’s COP27 climate summit, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom are united against establishing a new fund this year to help the world’s developing nations – which have contributed little to the climate crisis – recover from climate disasters.

Developing a so-called loss and damage fund is a key issue at COP27, and “the litmus test for success” of the summit, said Erin Roberts, a climate policy researcher and founder of the Loss and Damage Collaboration.

An EU source directly involved in the negotiations at the summit told CNN on Tuesday that the bloc doesn’t believe there should be a binding agreement on a new loss and damage fund before the details of how it would work are agreed on.

The source added that the EU believes the COP27 agreement could include an agreement that work needs to be done on the issue and a solution should be found by 2024.

Similarly, the UK government submitted a document to the conference saying it wants to establish a “process” that would lead to a concrete solution in 2024 at the latest.

US senior administration officials have only committed to having a conversation about loss and damage but have not gone further to explain what kind of fund they would ultimately support.

A spokesperson for US climate envoy John Kerry did not respond to a request for comment.

Amid a tough economy, US and EU leaders worry they won’t be able to get this funding passed through legislatures at home, where they’re already facing an uphill battle to marshal more money to fulfill climate finance commitments.

Source: CNN