The decision Sunday by nations around the world to establish a fund to help poor countries hit hard by a warming planet was one of the most significant since U.N. climate talks began 30 years ago. It was an unequivocal confirmation that poor countries, with limited resources, are being most impacted by extreme weather events like floods, heat waves and storms and, at least at some level, industrialized nations that have done the most to contribute to climate change have a responsibility to help. While government leaders, environmentalists and activists celebrated plans for such a fund, there are many outstanding questions, ranging from how it will work to long-term repercussions. Here is a look at the development of the idea of “loss and damage,” the term it’s given in climate negotiations, and what we know about the fund. Read more: UN climate deal: Calamity cash, but no new emissions cuts HISTORY In the early 1990s, the Alliance of Small Island States, a group of low-lying coastal and small island countries, began calling for the establishment of a loss and damage fund as the United Nations was creating a framework to deal with climate change on an international level. Since then, the idea has always been a part of annual U.N. climate summits. However, it was often talked about on the margins of negotiations, something developing nations and activists would push for while many rich nations used their weight to squash the idea. For the first time, at this year’s COP27 it was included in the agenda and became the centerpiece of discussions. WHO WILL FUND IT? The fund will initially draw on contributions from developed countries and other private and public sources, such as international financial institutions, with an option for other major economies to join down the line. The final text points to “identifying and expanding sources of funding,” something the EU, the U.S. and others had pushed for during negotiations, suggesting that nations that are both high-polluting and considered developing under the criteria, should also pay into the fund. During the talks, China said money for the new fund should come from developed countries, not them. But there’s precedence for China to voluntarily pay into climate funds, if the U.S. does too. When the Obama administration pledged $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund in 2014, China also paid $3.1 billion for the fund. More details of who pays will be decided by a committee that plans to get the fund going within a year. Read more: UN climate talks drag into extra time with scant progress WHO WILL GET MONEY? The deal says the fund will assist “developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change," though there will be room for middle-income countries that are severely affected by climate disasters to also get paid. Pakistan, which was devastated by flooding that put a third of the country underwater, or Cuba, recently battered by Hurricane Ian, could be eligible. How the loss and damage fund will fit in with "other institutions, agencies that are out there doing humanitarian work, helping people rebuild, dealing with migration and refugee crises, dealing with food security, water security” will need to be worked out, said David Waskow, the World Resources Institute international climate director. Those details will also be hammered out by the committee in the coming year. REBUILDING TRUST Beyond just financial help, setting up the fund is seen as a huge step forward, but how it's ultimately viewed will depend in part on how fast it can be set up. In the closing session Sunday, Antigua's Lia Nicholson said the transitional committee should be set up immediately and given clear mandates. “This loss and damage fund must become the lifeboat that we need it to be,” she said. There is a credibility gap because of past broken promises. In 2009, rich nations agreed to provide $100 billion a year to help developing countries transition to green energy systems and adapt to climate change. However, to date, that initiative has never been fully funded. Read more: Time running out for climate negotiators over loss and damage REPERCUSSIONS One of the main reasons that rich nations long opposed such a loss and damage fund was the fear that it would open then up to long-term liability. Despite passage, that concern is very much still at play, as evidence by how negotiators made sure the language of the fund didn’t say “liability” and that contributions were voluntary. Despite those caveats, the establishment of such a fund could have repercussions, both legal and symbolic, in climate circles and beyond. For example, several Pacific Island nations have been pushing for the International Court of Justice to consider climate change. They argue that international laws must be strengthened to protect their rights in the case that their lands are engulfed by rising seas. The establishment of a loss and damage fund could bolster those arguments.

Climate change impacts generate loss and damage, globally creating crises for society, human health and development, says a new report released on Wednesday. Disclosing comprehensive new data on the impact of climate change, the report also highlighted the asymmetric consequences for society which deepen global inequalities with poorer and more vulnerable nations the hardest hit. The flagship report titled “Climate Vulnerability Monitor, 3rd edition: A Planet on Fire”, commissioned by the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Ministers of Finance of the CVF presented the stark proof. Ban Ki-moon, Chairman of the Board of Global Center on Adaptation and 8th UN secretary-general said with this third edition “CVM” we see clearly just how much humanity finds itself at the crossroads. "Sadly, we have become a “Planet on Fire”, as the report’s title highlights. If we do not act now, by the end of the century, millions of lives would be lost every single year because of scorching heat," he said. Read more: Bangladesh a key player in fight against climate change, says British envoy Prof. Dr. Patrick V. Verkooijen, CEO of Global Center on Adaptation said this report reaffirms that the impact of climate change is asymmetric, particularly today, particularly with respect to health, jobs, food and development for poor and vulnerable communities in developing countries. "The shocking finding of this global assessment is that some of the world’s richest and most powerful economies will also see their economic growth compromised throughout the 21st century, not just lowering incomes but also increasing inflation and interest rates. It is now crystal clear that every economy, every government, and every community must take action to analyse, monitor and respond to these risks.” Prof. Dr. Saleemul Huq, Chair of the CVF Expert Advisory Group said the Climate Vulnerability Monitor provides them with the anatomy of the loss and damage the world now lives with because of decades of insufficient climate inaction by rich, powerful and responsible countries. The detailed impact data and evidence presented by the CVM3 provides sobering reading on just how bad the situation already is, and how much worse it will become with fast rising global health risks, extreme heat events, and economic shocks, to name a few, he said. "Loss and damage has become the biggest risk to global prosperity in the present age. The international community must act and support those worst affected and least responsible with funding and solutions. COP27 must make good on this agenda," Huq added. The CVM3’s full online data set with global coverage at national level portal will be released via a dedicated portal on 10 November 2022 at UNFCCC COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The third edition of the Climate Vulnerability Monitor (CVM3), a research program into the impact of climate change publicly released today, is the product of a multi-year research program involving a multi-organization science consortium led by the Global Center on Adaptation, Climate Analytics, the Lancet Countdown and finres, as well as 14 regional partner organizations. The Monitor consolidates the latest research from the scientific literature on the attribution of climate change in 32 distinct indicators of socio-economic and environmental change and impact phenomena. Read more: UN, ADB to support Bangladesh's fight against climate change The Monitor projects and compares how, for a wide range of countries, these impacts evolve throughout the 21st century under a climate and socio-economic scenario that limits warming to 1.5°C, versus a below 2°C scenario, and a high emissions scenario without climate action to reduce emissions or mobilize additional adaptation efforts. The CVM3 findings illustrate the significant extent to which limiting warming to 1.5ºC could contain otherwise enormous losses and damage for the world this century. The CVM3 and its scenarios and modeling are informed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) latest Sixth Assessment Report. The 32 individual climate impact indicators for the time periods of 2030, 2050 and 2090, are as follows: 19 indicators of the impact of climate change in biophysical terms including temperature changes, drought, precipitation and runoff/discharge, windspeed, soil moisture and crop yields. 10 indicators of the impact of climate change on human health, including through infectious disease and exposure to risks like heat, wildfires and food insecurity. 3 indicators of the economic impact of climate change on GDP per capita growth, inflation and interest rates. Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana Minister for Finance and Economic Planning and V20 chairman said climate-fueled risks have driven up the cost of capital and debt to unsustainable levels, especially across climate vulnerable economies, worsening already horrific financial protection gaps. "Such measures can lower the impact of climate change, make vulnerable country economies more resilient, safeguard sustainable development, and protect the lives and livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people.” Key findings of the CVM3 report include that: Annual global heat deaths among vulnerable groups could reach 3.35 million by end of century if insufficient climate action is taken: 91% of the increase in heat deaths could be avoided if global warming is limited to 1.5ºC As much as over 10% of economic growth lost every single year in the long-term for key world regions: Africa, Asia, Europe Fast-growing cumulative economic losses are already lowering incomes worldwide and raising inflation and interest rates across all regions in a negative impact that would more than double if warming exceeded 1.5ºC and reached 2ºC 20-year extreme drought events will increase 4-8 fold during the decade ahead (at 1.5°C) and 8-12 times under a below 2.0°C scenario Extreme wildfire risk to increase by 8.5% in the coming decade (at 1.5ºC) and to triple by end-of-century under a no climate action scenario Decreases in staple crop yields could reach 30-40% by end of century, but could be reduced to 5-10% if global warming is limited to 1.5ºC Henry Kokofu, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency and Special Envoy of the CVF Presidency of Ghana said the vulnerable nations have been working all year towards a decisive outcome from COP27 on loss and damage. "With this landmark CVM3 report, we are reminded of the scale and breadth of the climate calamities being visited upon poorer and vulnerable nations that lack responsibility for the climate crisis. I hope all delegations to COP27 will study the findings of the CVM3 and that the rich, powerful and responsible nations will be convinced to extend necessary support for addressing the stark injustice of loss and damage.”  

The 26th UN Conference Of the Parties (COP26) on climate change, now in its second week and final week of negotiations, has failed so far to reach a decision on 'loss and damage',  and it is now clear that there will be no decision made on this important issue at this year's conference.   Speaking to members of the Bangladesh delegation and environmental experts at the Scottish Exhibition Centre, UNB was able to learn that they are already looking forward to the next such conference, which would be COP27, for a decision on this issue. Loss and damage from climate change refers to the complete and irrecoverable loss of some things and the repairable damage of other things due to the impacts of human-induced climate change. Mirza Shawkat Ali, a member of the Bangladesh government delegation, told UNB that the 'breakthrough recognition' of loss and damage in the Paris Agreement was the result of years of effort on the part of countries that are most affected by climate change, including Bangladesh. Although the developed countries are not very willing to discuss the matter voluntarily, Bangladesh has a strong role to play in this regard as it is the current chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum. Read: COP26: Bangladesh delegation senses ‘positive vibe’ as Week 1 ends Shawkat Ali said discussions on preparing guidelines for loss and damage, fundings and considering 'Loss and damage' under COP and CMA - the group of countries who have signed and ratified the Paris Agreement -are going on at this time.  Keeping loss and damage as a separate agenda in each COP going forward is also being discussed. The Paris Agreement reaffirmed the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage as the main vehicle under the UNFCCC process to avert, minimize and address loss and damage associated with climate change impacts, including extreme weather events and slow onset events. Shawkat Ali added that discussions on Article 6, which relates to carbon markets, were going on at the technical level on Sunday. Adaptation is being discussed in various forums. However, talks on the $100-billion finance that industrialised countries pledged in 2009, but never followed through on, have ended. How to start long term finance will be finalised, Shawkat Ali said. Regarding the climate conference, Dr Atiqur Rahman, another member of the Bangladesh delegation and a world-renowned scientist and expert on climate change, said that the rate of reducing carbon emissions by developing countries is generally lower than in developed countries, who are mostly responsible for huge carbon emissions historically that developing countries are suffering from most. He said that due to climate change, cyclones, floods, cyclones, steep slopes, river and mountain erosion have increased in Bangladesh. Keeping the temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels can prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change. He said that salinity is increasing rapidly in the south region of Bangladesh. Salinity has been detected in Gopalganj too. Studies have shown that 1-2 types of crops have been damaged because of salinity. Besides, sea level has also risen. He added that displacement and migration has become a major problem in Bangladesh due to climate change. In this regard, migration and displacement issues are being discussed at the table of various platforms / negotiations. Read: COP26: Bangladesh announces 37bn-dollar budget to tackle climate change damages Meanwhile, Ziaul Haque, a member of the Bangladeshi delegation and co-ordinator of the LDC group, told UNB that although many issues were positive, discussions on loss and damage were long overdue. He said the developed world was supposed to give $100 billion to developing countries including Bangladesh by 2020, according to the promise made in 2009. However, in order to give 100 billion by 2021 is being discussed at the tactical level. In the meantime, about 80 billion are ready to be disbursed mentioned in the discussion. These 100 billion dollars will be disbursed till 2025. He said the countries that emit more carbon did not object to this in principle. However, the world leaders of many countries do not agree to pay for the damage caused by climate change. After so many days of discussion, this time it has been added to the agenda. Various conditions are also being attached for the money that is being promised. Saher Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Forest Climate Change, told UNB that the talks were going positively. Hopefully this time there will be progress. Once again, there was talk of securing the bill of 100 billion in funding for the affected countries. But now time is running out for all the talk to give shape to an agreement, in the form of a text that almost 200 countries need to agree on.