This is an important step, because the question of whether developing countries should receive compensation for climate damage caused by richer countries has been a hot topic for years. After all, it is the developed countries that emit by far the most greenhouse gases. The fact that this subject is now formally on the agenda is a signal that the resistance of rich countries, including European ones, is starting to wane.
Prior to the climate summit, pressure increased to get climate compensation on the agenda. A series of climate disasters, including the deadly floods in Pakistan and the drought in the Horn of Africa, made the issue even more pressing. “The addition of this agenda item is a sign of solidarity with the victims of climate disasters,” said chairman Shoukry.
immeasurable damage
Rich countries fear that if they make commitments, they will have to pay for immeasurable damage. It is therefore still uncertain whether there will be a compensation fund and, if so, in what form. Negotiations to get the issue on the agenda alone have been “extremely difficult,” said Harjeet Singh, head of Climate Action Network International, a large alliance of environmental groups.
Nevertheless, there were already signals from Europe in particular that countries are open to the idea of compensation for climate damage. Reuters reported last month based on an internal document that the European Union was in favor of negotiations, although it remained unclear what kind of fund the European countries envision. European Commissioner Frans Timmermans called it ‘very good’ on Sunday that this item is now on the agenda. And German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a response on Sunday that Germany is “ready” to do climate compensation.
The climate crisis has impacts beyond what vulnerable countries can shoulder alone. Very good that the #COP27 calendar now includes #LossAndDamage.
We need solutions that respond to the diverse needs on the ground and allow quick scaling up of support to those that need it most.
— Frans Timmermans (@TimmermansEU) Nov 6, 2022
If this happens, countries will have to make agreements about which climate damage is eligible for compensation. For example, is it only about the increasing damage caused by storms and floods, or also about matters that are less easy to price, such as the loss of biodiversity?
No binding arrangements
The discussions during the climate summit will in advance not be about binding compensation schemes or the liability of rich countries for climate damage elsewhere in the world. At the most, they could result in a fund that can only be used incidentally in the event of climate disasters. Sameh Shoukry hopes to reach concrete agreements ‘no later than 2024’.
Meanwhile, developing countries point out that rich countries are not even paying out the 100 billion a year that they already pledged in 2009. This money is intended to support the sustainability of the economy and not as compensation. According to a report published this year according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the rich countries together reached about 83 billion a year in 2020.
Major breakthroughs in climate policy are not expected in Egypt. Negotiations are difficult, partly due to the great geopolitical tensions and increased energy prices. The situation has not become less urgent: just last week the United Nations environmental program warned that the world is heading for 2.4 to 2.6 degrees of warming this century. That is well above the 2 degrees that has been agreed as the ultimate limit in the Paris Climate Agreement.