Morning Star (UK)
October 14, 2022
A United Nations’ group called today for compensation to poorer countries suffering from climate change to be high up on the Cop27 agenda.
Least Developed Countries group chairwoman Madeleine Diouf Sarr said that the UN conference in Egypt next month should “capture the voice and needs of the most climate-vulnerable nations and deliver climate justice.”
Ms Sarr said the group, comprised of 46 nations that make up just a small fraction of global emissions, would like to see “an agreement to establish a dedicated financial facility” that pays nations that are already facing the effects of climate change at the summit.
Issues such as who pays for poorer nations to transition to cleaner energy, making sure no communities get left behind in an energy transition and boosting how well vulnerable people can adapt to climate change have long been on the bloc’s agenda, but little progress has been made.
One pledge that remains unmet is the promise of $100 billion (£89 bn) a year in climate aid made over a decade ago.
Developing nations still face serious challenges accessing clean energy finance, with Africa attracting just 2 per cent of the total clean energy investment in the last 20 years, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
The UN weather agency recently estimated that global clean energy supplies must double by 2030 for the world to limit global warming within the set targets.
“We can no longer afford to have a Cop that is ‘all talk’,” Ms Sarr said.
“The climate crisis has pushed our adaptation limits, resulted in inevitable loss and damage, and delayed our much-needed development.”
