“This is loss and damage: irreversible climate-related devastation that cannot be mitigated or adapted,” warns in Nature Madeleine Diouf SarrMadeleine Diouf Sarr represents least developed countries: “When your home is destroyed by climate change, do you want us to leave you alone?”On the need for economic aid for those most affected by climate disasters: “Talking does not feed the hungry or shelter the homeless””This year, thousands of people died and millions lost their homes in devastating floods in Bangladesh, Sudan and Pakistan In East Africa, 50 million people are facing famine caused by the worst drought in 40 years Globally, at least half of the 59 million internal migrants in 2021 were displaced by the effects of climate change according to the United Nations. This is loss and damage: irreversible climate-related devastation that cannot be mitigated or adapted. Dealing with this is pushing developing countries to become increasingly indebted and their economies to the brink of collapse”. Thus begins the article signed, in the journal Nature, Madeleine Diouf Sarr, president of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDC) on Climate Change. And as such, she remembers that she represents “46 countries, which are home to almost a billion people.” The article was published a few days ago, and she announced that she would be at COP27, which is being held in Egypt from Sunday. “I will be among those calling on governments to establish a loss and damage fund for developing countries during COP27. It is estimated that between $290 billion and $580 billion a year will be needed by 2030.” Less Prepared Loss and damage will indeed be key in the COP27 negotiations, after many years struggling to be on the official agenda of these climate change summits. For the first time, financing to address the loss and damage caused by the climate crisis in the least developed countries, which are the most vulnerable, is on the table at the COP. This is what is called “climate justice”. A few days ago, Sarr declared that COP27 should “capture the voice and needs of the most vulnerable nations and offer climate justice”. The 46 countries she represents negotiate as a bloc at the UN summit. And everything indicates that, in this summit, they will be more listened to than in others. Greenpeace alludes to the same examples as Madeleine Diouf Sarr. “The destruction caused by the floods in Pakistan, the drought in Somalia, the US and the Mediterranean, and the heat waves that have caused thousands of deaths in Europe and India, have changed the policy around this issue” , say environmentalists. And the data speaks for itself: “The African Development Bank reported in September that the continent is losing between 5% and 15% of its growth in GDP per capita each year due to climate change,” Sarr warns. “The people and communities I represent are the least responsible for carbon dioxide emissions, collectively contributing just 1.1% of global emissions in 2019. That’s less than half of car emissions and trucks in the United States. We are the first and most affected by climate change and we are the least equipped to respond,” he recalls. Talk does not feed or shelter Sarr is Head of the Climate Change Division of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Senegal . Trained as a biologist and environmental engineer, she has decades of experience in UN climate change negotiations. And in his article prior to the summit, he insists: “Those most responsible for global warming also have the greatest capacity to act. Although the 10% of the richest people in the world produce 50% of the emissions, they claim 52% of the world’s wealth; the poorest 50% contribute about 10% of global emissions and receive about 8% of global income. Negotiators like myself have been demanding action for 30 years. But where is the concrete support for people and communities most affected?”. Remember that “last year, at COP26 in Glasgow, low- and middle-income countries jointly proposed a Loss and Damage Financing Fund”. The rich countries rejected it and offered a ‘dialogue’ for three years, until 2024, to which Greenpeace alluded. “Talking does not feed the hungry or shelter the homeless,” warns the Senegalese, who could not be clearer when she explains the urgent need for funding. “Why create a new fund to support climatic disasters? Because when your house has been leveled, you need a place to sleep and something to eat, not money destined for the regeneration of wetlands,” she explains. Above all, remember, because the effects of climate change are already occurring, faster than even the IPCC predicted. What are they asking of COP27? the $697 billion. That could pay for the climate-related economic losses suffered by the most vulnerable countries between 2000 and 2019, and they would still have $170 billion left in profits.” “What do I want to leave COP27 with?” Question. And it points to two basic things: “First, a plan for the commitment made in Glasgow to at least double adaptation financing by 2025 through a system of public subsidies. Second, the establishment of a loss financing service and damages with an equitable governing body, disbursing new funds”. Sarr points out that, “ultimately, it is the choice of each country how to ensure the necessary financing to support the most vulnerable.” But he cautions: “The fund must have a clear way to identify funding needs and a fast track for emergencies. When your home is destroyed by climate change, do you want to be left alone?”
