$100 Billion Climate Change Fund Brought Forward in UN COP28 Summit

As states prepare to discuss who will benefit and who will pay in at the UN COP28 climate summit, developing countries have proposed that a new UN fund unlock at least US$100 billion by 2030 to address irreversible damage caused by climate change.

Countries will try to iron out the details of the climate "loss and damage" fund at the summit, which will take place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12. If it is established, it will be the first UN fund dedicated to addressing irreversible damage caused by climate-related droughts, floods, and rising sea levels.

While countries agreed to the fund last year, the most contentious decisions, such as which countries will contribute to it, were postponed.

At a United Nations committee meeting last week, developing countries including those in Africa, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and small island states, proposed that the climate damage fund should programme at least US$100 billion by 2030.

The published proposal said US$100 billion should be a "minimum" and provide a safety net when climate impacts overburden a country's capacity to cope.

"Loss and damage are not just an environmental setback; they are unravelling decades of development efforts," said Madeleine Diouf Sarr, chair of the 46-nation Least Developed Countries group, which supports the US$100 billion proposal.

Decisions at COP28, however, require unanimous support from the nearly 200 countries that attend UN climate summits - and the proposal contradicts the position of some wealthy nations expected to contribute to the fund.

According to a US proposal, the fund should be funded by governments, the private sector, philanthropies, and new "innovative sources." A section about which countries should pay was left unfilled. "There are currently differences of opinion," according to the US proposal.