The Board of the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) as a result of climate change, has announced the selection of Ibrahima Cheikh Diong as its first Executive Director, for a four-year term beginning November 1, 2024.
“This is a key step towards responding to loss and damage by bringing finance to millions of people in developing countries on the frontlines of climate change,” stated the UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) - the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change.
A Senegalese and American national, Mr. Diong brings over three decades of global experience in climate change, finance, and development. He will provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Fund’s Secretariat and assist the Board in delivering on the Fund’s mandate to provide financial support to vulnerable countries hardest hit by climate impacts. Mr. Diong is a former UN-Assistant Secretary General.
Following years of diplomatic negotiations since the Fund’s establishment at COP27 and the decision on its operationalisation at COP28, this lays the groundwork for the Fund to disburse funding for the first time in 2025.
The Board of the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage worked towards the Fund’s full operationalisation at its third meeting in Baku, hosted by the COP29 Presidency of Azerbaijan last week.
The COP29 Presidency will use the COP29 summit in Baku to work with the countries who have already pledged nearly $800 million to the fund, to convert those pledges into tangible funding ready for disbursement to the communities who particularly need it. The Presidency will also be calling for further contributions.
The Board also endorsed the hosting agreement and trustee arrangements with the World Bank.
