Minister Barbara Creecy: Building Global Solidarity: Operationalising Loss and Damage Fund and funding arrangements | UNFCCC pre-CoP 28 Ministerial Meeting, 30 – 31 October 2023

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Emirates Palace

31 October 2023

At CoP 28, we should agree on the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) and funding arrangements that meet the needs and priorities of developing countries. 

Loss and Damage Finance should be new, additional, predictable, accessible, and adequate to support all developing countries. It should be separate from finance for adaptation and not increase the debt burden of developing countries. 

Moreover, the scaled-up loss and damage finance should fully address the rehabilitation and reconstruction needs of impacted communities. It must ensure that communities are equipped with necessary tools to build resilience against future climate-related risks. 

The basis for determining financing arrangements must be based on the agreement regarding the form, nature and scope of financial support for “addressing” loss and damage. Discussions can then move on to the issue of institutional arrangements. An institutional outcome is hollow if the function of support has not been well defined.

The scale of resources required to support recovery from loss and damage events and other climate shocks is well beyond the realm of the operating entities of the financial mechanism. 

Financing arrangements are most needed for post-event support, in particular economic recovery efforts and lending with the purpose of returning annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth to pre-event levels in the shortest possible time, re-building critical infrastructure destroyed in an event, and re-building livelihoods and social safety nets. 

I thank you.