'Operational loss and damage fund a big outcome... not at the COP28 finish line yet'

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can look at the possibility of working on climate mitigation projects in third countries as they focus on joint efforts to address the impact of the climate crisis, UAE ambassador Abdulnasser Jamal Alshaali has said.

- Rezaul H Laskar

With India expected to be one of the countries to benefit from the UAE’s Alterra Fund, a $30 billion climate finance vehicle aimed at mobilising investments to fight climate change, Alshaali said in an interview that many of the outcomes under India’s G20 presidency overlapped with the UAE’s efforts under COP28 to address the global climate crisis.

Edited excerpts:

What are the major outcomes from COP28 so far, and how do you see the breakthrough on the loss and damage fund?

Making [the fund] operational is a huge milestone, especially since there were quite a few conversations around it – is this going to work? Is it not going to work? How are we going to make it work? If it works, are countries going to commit certain amounts and pledge to certain projects? So, the fact that we managed to come out of COP28, as one of the main outcomes, with an operational loss and damage fund, and already more than $700 million committed to it, and $100 million of that coming from the UAE itself, [is an outcome].

Then you have a few declarations which tens of countries have signed on to. We have agriculture and food with more than 130 countries, we have climate and health with more than 120 countries. We have the climate finance one, which India obviously supported us on, and signed on to with 13 countries. We have 50 companies who have signed on to the oil and gas decarbonisation charter. All in all, even though we’re still not at the finish line yet, I think the momentum is there and you can see there are quite a few things that have been pushed forward.