The U.N. COP27 Climate Change Conference wrapped up this month with a historic breakthrough, as world leaders agreed to create a dedicated fund to address “loss and damage” stemming from the impacts of climate change in developing countries. Now that’s been agreed to, though, the real work of financing it begins.
Climate Change
President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement sparked widespread criticism beyond U.S. borders as well as debate on how best to proceed without Washington’s involvement. The WPR series examines the effects of climate change, and the trends that shape climate policy, in countries around the world.
The U.N. COP27 Climate Change Summit concluded Sunday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with a breakthrough in negotiations to set up a “loss and damage” fund. For countries in Africa, the agreement to allocate loss-and-damage financing is hopefully the first of many necessary steps toward a fairer climate transition.
As the United Nations COP27 Climate Change Conference closed Sunday, Egypt, this year’s host, hailed the agreements brokered there as a success. But there continues to be a gap between the climate-change commitments most countries in the Middle East and North Africa have formally expressed and their actual behavior.