Boats sit near homes in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, near the Maitree Super Thermal Power Project in Rampal, Bangladesh recently. – APThe endless headlines spotlighting natural disasters in recent months have underscored how this is a here-and-now crisis with massive ramifications for humankind. And few countries will be spared.
Worryingly, this partial list does not include droughts and other extreme weather mayhem. From January through September, there were 29 weather-related disasters with losses of at least US$1bil , according to insurance broker Aon, with the total economic cost still being counted. The estimate for 2021 was US$329bil .
While true in a legal sense, the cold hard truth is that developed nations are some of the largest emitters, prospering through highly pollutive industrialisation. Yet it’s poor countries, whose contributions to cumulative greenhouse gas emissions have been minuscule, which bear the brunt of destruction from climate-related natural disasters. It just doesn’t seem fair.
At this year’s COP27, president of the European Commission Dr Ursula von der Leyen endorsed the idea of separate funding for poor nations affected by loss and damage. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Ireland stepped forward with contributions. Immigration can be a firecracker igniting policy innovation. Already, there are about three times more climate refugees than the number of people forced to flee armed conflicts, according to the Geneva-based research organisation Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. And the number is forecast to rise to 200 million by 2050, from 30.7 million in 2020.While a financing mechanism for loss and damage has yet to be set up, the idea now at least has some support and more momentum.
Some funding can be routed through multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, as they raise their game on climate finance, but other sources of funding should also be explored.But the idea of a loss and damage facility faces formidable obstacles, even leaving aside political hurdles. Already, there is a lack of enthusiasm for existing global climate initiatives, particularly in the United States.
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