Ruobang Wang / EyeEm via Getty
For the first time, this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) has officially put the topic of “loss and damage” on the agenda for world leaders to discuss in the next two weeks—moving forward the conversation on compensating countries for the damages already wrought by climate change, not just putting money toward disaster preparedness. World leaders, including Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, have praised the inclusion of the topic and called for measurable change to take place.
“We believe that it is critical that we address the issue of ‘loss and damage.’ The talk must come to an end,” Mottley said yesterday.
Loss and damage, simply put, is a catch-all term for helping developing nations hit hard by the effects of climate change. Some small European nations have pledged modest sums toward loss and damage, but there is still intense disagreement over who should receive the aid, the amount provided, and who should be held liable. And it’s extremely unlikely these questions will be resolved at COP27.