This week COP27 started in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Running from 6 November until 18 November 2022 it will become an increasingly fractious collection of countries meeting together. Not just as our climate edges more towards the climate emergency many councils have announced. But also, more fractious as thorny subjects get discussed.
One that caught my eye was the intensity of the argument around climate reparation. For over 30 years, developing nations have been calling for compensation from industrialised countries for the costs of devastating storms and droughts caused by climate change. And for just as long, rich nations, have resisted those calls. In the last day or so the COP agenda has included the “Loss and Damage Panel”. The phrase “Loss and Damage” refers to costs already being incurred from climate-fuelled weather extremes or impacts, like rising sea levels. Climate funding so far has focused on cutting carbon dioxide emissions to curb climate change, while about a third of it has gone toward projects to help communities adapt to future impacts. But it is “Loss and Damage” which is creating an uncomfortable and prickly time for all, as it appears for the first time on the formal agenda. New York Times writes that “Rich nations, which have emitted half of all heat-trapping gases since 1850 (source: Global Carbon Project), are worried that compensating poorer countries for climate disasters already underway could open them to unlimited liability. But on Monday, President Emmanuel Macron of France said Europe was already helping poorer countries, and that other Western nations needed to do more. “Europeans are paying,” he said. “We are the only ones paying.”
You can read Nicola Sturgeon’s response after Scotland increased its contributions https://www.gov.scot/publications/cop27-loss-damage-panel-first-ministers-speech-8-november-2022/
If there is to be a climate loss and damage debate, this is not just a global issue but also a local issue too, with the impacts of climate change beginning to be felt more regularly on our infrastructure. Could local communities here in the UK start to consider loss and damage from national governments? probably not, but an intriguing thought.
Paula Claytonsmith, Director, Government, & Strategy