Dr Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate and UAE’s Special Envoy for Climate Change has underscored the need to make the ‘loss and damage’ fund for most vulnerable nations a reality.

The ‘loss and damage’ fund was agreed at COP27 summit in Egypt to support developing nations deal with the negative consequences of climate change such as flooding, desertification and extreme heat waves.

Al Jaber made the call on Sunday at the opening plenary of the 2023 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Climate Week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He said as the world gears up for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE slated for Nov. 30- Dec.12, all hands must be on deck to deliver transformational climate outcomes.

“A critical pillar of the COP28 agenda is focused on people, lives, and livelihoods.

“We must make the fund for the loss and damage that was promised in Sharm El-Sheikh a reality in Dubai,” he said.

Al Jaber who is also UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology stressed the need for a holistic and collective effort to address climate change and it’s effects on the environment.

“Let us rise above the noise. Climate change does not recognise political divisions or national boundaries. It affects everyone, everywhere. Let us respect the signs,” he added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that at the COP27 summit in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt, nearly 200 countries agreed on an historic breakthrough to set up a “loss and damage” fund.

The fund is meant to support poorer countries being ravaged by climate impacts, overcoming decades of resistance from wealthy nations whose historic emissions have fuelled climate change.

The agreement lays out a roadmap for future decision-making, with recommendations to be made at COP28 for decisions including who would oversee the fund, how the money would be dispersed  and to whom.

NAN reports that the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference will convene from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Top on the agenda is Fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030; Transforming climate finance, by delivering on old promises and setting the framework for a new deal on finance; Putting nature, people, lives, and livelihoods at the heart of climate action; and. Mobilizing for the most inclusive COP ever. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza