Highs and lows

As COP28 enters its final week, Parties have operationalised historic loss and damage fund and agreed to the health impacts of climate change, but have failed to reach a consensus on key issues of climate finance, adaptation goal and global stocktake

THE 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opened in Dubai on November 30 with a blend of optimism and urgency. On December 7, when the magazine went to print, COP28 was already halfway through. While significant progress has been made on several fronts, negotiations on key issues of climate finance and global stocktake has hit a roadblock.

LOSS AND DAMAGE FUND

With an initial budget of US$ 700 million, the world operationalised the long-standing Loss and Damage Fund, which was announced at COP27 in Egypt last year.

The World Bank will oversee the fund for the first four years, and the money will be sourced from rich nations and some developing countries. The scale or the replenishment cycle of the fund remains unclear, but the current pledges falls short of the billions of dollars required to address the problem.

HEALTH RECOGNISED AS CLIMATE IMPERATIVE

As many as 123 countries signed a new declaration on climate and health, acknowledging the link between climate change and public health. Signatories have committed to incorporate health targets in their national climate plans and improve international collaboration to address the health risks of climate change and monitor progress in all global forums including future COPS and health ministerials. The significant aspect of the initiative by the coP28 presidency and WHO is the effort made to get commitments on finance. Collectively, a wide range of partners and stakeholders have committed to dedicate $1 billion to arrest the climate-health crisis.

COOLING AND DECARBONISATION INITIATIVES LAUNCHED