Funds collected for Loss and Damage are too little to compensate for impact of climate disasters
By Gurinder Kaur
Published: Tuesday 02 January 2024
Photo: UNclimatechange / FlickrThe 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change concluded on December 13, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The conference is the largest climate summit globally and has been held every year since 1995.
The main purpose of the COP28 was to limit the increase in the average temperature of the earth to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the temperature of the pre-industrial revolution period by the end of the century.
It took into account the efforts of all countries, reducing dependence on coal and other fossil fuels, generating energy from renewable sources, reducing emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases, reducing the losses of developing countries from natural disasters caused by temperature rise, and planning for the future after considering issues such as the establishment of a Loss and Damage fund for compensation.
Some important outcomes of this conference are to be welcomed. The Loss and Damage Fund became operational on the first day of COP28, which had been in the works for the past three decades. Fund collection started on the first day of the COP28 and $792 million has been accumulated so far.
Read more: Mixed reactions: COP28 focuses on fossil fuel role in climate change but disregards equity, says CSE
Second was the decision to transition from fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner with renewable energy generation to reduce carbon emissions by 2050 in order to control the increase in average global temperature.
This decision sounds historic and admirable in language, but it deserves some special discussion. Another important achievement was the decision to generate 11,000 gigawatts of energy from renewable energy sources globally by 2030. Nuclear energy has also been brought under the category of clean energy at this conference.
At the same time, 160 countries have agreed to make necessary changes to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in food and agriculture-related systems, as these two systems account for one-third of total GHG emissions. The decision was voluntary and not under any international agreements.
The President of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group and the former chief adviser of the United Kingdom said the wording of the agreement on fossil fuels was too weak. Many scientists have also called the agreement flawed.
The Editor-in-Chief of the journal Nature, Magdalena Skipper said, “Fossil fuels should be stopped in all cases because, according to science, these fuels are increasing the temperature of the earth. Leaders around the world must accept this reality.”
An editorial in the journal also brought out that the conference had missed an opportunity to tackle global warming. Climate doesn’t care who emits greenhouse gases, the editorial continued. The scientists said that loopholes included the call to “accelerate” carbon capture and storage to trap emissions from burning fossil fuels, an option that can play a minor role at best.
The COP28 has taken place at a time when the earth’s average temperature is repeatedly breaking old records and setting new records relating to temperature rise. To limit the earth’s average temperature rise to 1.5°C by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced by 43 per cent by 2030 and 60 per cent by 2030 after they peak in 2025.
Achieving this goal seems unlikely with an agreement to continue producing energy from fossil fuels. So far, the average temperature of the earth has increased by 1.1°C compared to the pre-industrial era.
Agreements to gradually reduce the use of fossil fuels instead of completely phasing them out revealed the hidden stakes of oil-producing countries, multinational companies and countries like the United States, China and others with huge oil and coal reserves, along with major use of these fuels.
The Dubai conference was also attended by a large number of industry representatives, including around 2,500 from the oil and natural gas sector, 475 from the carbon capture and storage sector and over 100 from commercial agriculture.
According to a report by the World Economic Forum, GHG emissions are continuously increasing by 1.5 per cent per year, while according to the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, they should be reduced by 7 per cent every year from 2019 to 2030. According to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if all countries in the world cut greenhouse gas emissions under the Nationally Determined Contributions as promised, there would be only a 2 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 2019.
In the Paris Agreement, countries had agreed that by 2050, the increase in the average temperature of the earth should be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. According to the latest estimates, all countries in the world are falling far short of their pledges made under the agreement. The year 2023 may be the hottest year on record so far, according to temperature records. This year's average temperature may also register an increase of 1.5°C.
Initiating a Loss and Damage Fund is a laudable initiative, but the amount collected is too little to compensate for the losses caused by natural disasters in developing countries. In 2022, a flood in Pakistan caused a loss of $16 billion. According to United Nations estimates, developing countries will need $300 billion every year by 2030 to cope with natural disasters caused by climate change.
Developing countries are also demanding that these funds be given in the form of grants instead of loans. The US, the largest emitter of GHG in history, contributed only $17.5 million to the Loss and Damage Fund.
The COP28 was chaired by Sultan Al-Jaber, who is the head of a major oil company. The agreements to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels suit the interests of a few but may be harmful for people and the planet. It is also important that out of the 198 countries, 130 countries had demanded a complete phase out of energy from fossil fuels.
Read more: DTE Diary: Our daily account of what happened at COP28
In 2009, developed countries pledged $100 billion annually to the Climate Fund to help developing countries, but this amount has never been fully collected and distributed to developing countries. A lot of promises are made at every conference, but they are rarely fulfilled. Since 1995, the Parties to the COP have continued to hold summits on increasing natural disasters, but there is no sign of a reduction in GHG emissions.
Developing countries had high hopes from COP28 like agreements on drastic reductions in GHG emissions and restrictions on energy production from fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas). However, with the continued use of fossil fuels, the average temperature of the earth may increase even more in the future. The conference has made the use of fossil fuels too flexible and soft at a cost to every country in the world in the form of lives, property, and growing disasters.
Head of the Marshall Islands, John Silk, who was disappointed with the performance of the conference, said he came to the conference to address the greatest challenge of our generation, but we have all come to an agreement that is full of problems.
Gurinder Kaur is Former Professor, Department of Geography, Punjabi University, Patiala
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth
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