Climate compensation payments for poor countries

The world climate conference in Egypt has for the first time agreed on a joint pot of money to compensate for climate damage in poorer countries. In the early hours of Sunday morning, representatives of nearly 200 states decided on the new fund. However, the necessary approval of the final declaration was still awaited. In addition, the goals of the Paris climate protection agreement were reaffirmed, including the 1.5 degrees target. What was decided, an overview:

Compensation payments aim to mitigate the inevitable consequences of global warming, such as increasingly frequent droughts, floods and storms, as well as rising sea levels and desertification.

The question became the main topic of discussion during the two-week conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, which was extended by nearly 36 hours. The decision does not mention any amount for the new compensation fund or who exactly should pay.

Developing countries, which are especially at risk from the consequences of climate change, should be preferred. In particular, the EU insisted on this limitation. According to the World Resources Institute, more than 3.3 billion people worldwide live in areas classified as critically endangered.

Developing countries will also be supported in restructuring their economies in a way that is both climate-friendly and socially acceptable (“just transition”).

The US initially blocked the issue. The pressure came from the G77, a group of more than 130 developing countries, including China. After initial reluctance, the European Union finally changed its mind.

According to the decision taken on Sunday morning, the first plan is to set up a transitional commission to prepare proposals. This will then be discussed at the next UN climate conference in Dubai at the end of 2023. The commission will include ten representatives from industrialized countries and 13 from developing countries.

Ani Dasgupta, head of the US think tank World Resources Institute, spoke of a “historic breakthrough”. The fund will be a lifebelt “for poor families whose homes have been destroyed, farmers with devastated fields, and islanders displaced from their ancestral homes.” At the same time, representatives of developing countries left without making clear commitments on how to control the money pot.

Climate expert Jan Kowalzig from Oxfam Germany described the agreement as “a milestone” and “a real success in the fight against climate change”. For years, such a pot of money has been blocked by rich countries for fear of being blamed for causing the climate crisis.

Achieving the 1.5 degrees target requires immediate and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. These should be by 2030 43 percent Compared to 2019 level reduction and approx. 2050 should be worldwide greenhouse gas neutrality to reach.

What else was decided

• Action program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Countries that have not yet done so should tighten their national emissions targets by 2030. The program will initially run until 2026, but may be extended. The basis is the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact.
• “Clean energy mix”, including low greenhouse gas emissions and power generation with renewable energies: The EU pressed, among others, to include the demand for renewable energies to be included in the text. The accepted expression is significantly softer.