The Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, established to aid developing countries that are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, convened its third meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, on September 18.
To date, the Fund has not commenced its activity. Pacific Islands leaders and small islands developing states are among those frustrated by access to funding for climate resilience.
The three-day meeting of the Board of the Fund is expected to result in landmark decisions, including on its full operationalization and the recognition of the Fund as a financial institution within the World Bank system.
COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev, said yesterday, “We have an opportunity to make real progress in the coming days and send a strong signal to all on our commitment to loss and damage. We must build on the momentum to advance on the full operationalization of the Fund. In particular, the hosting agreement between the Board and World Bank and trustee arrangements, as well as the selection of an Executive Director will be an important milestone. This will create momentum for further progress at COP29, where the Presidency is committed to making real progress on loss and damage."
The event has gathered nearly 200 participants from developed and developing countries, representatives from the United Nations and other international organisations, the World Bank, international NGOs. The expected appointment of the Fund’s Executive Director is one of the key issues on the agenda. The meeting will also discuss important matters related to the High-level Dialogue on Funding Arrangements for loss and damage, which is set to be officially launched during the World Climate Action Summit at COP29.
COP29 Lead Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev said: “As countries face the pressures of increasingly frequent and severe climate-related disasters, loss and damage becomes ever more relevant. This is particularly true for our friends in SIDS and LDCs. And so, the work we are doing to advance the full operationalization of the Fund is critical.
“An operational Fund will mean the long-awaited support and necessary resources for those who need them. And it will mean that we are fulfilling the promises we have made at COP27 and COP28. This is key to achieving our shared objectives. The COP29 Presidency will continue to support this process, every step of the way.” The decision to establish the Fund was reached during COP27. While the decision on its operationalization was adopted at COP28,
Azerbaijan is hosting of this meeting ahead of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
COP29 President-Designate and Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Mr. Mukhtar Babayev, was in Tonga recently for the 53rd Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, where he heard the voices of SIDS leaders and stressed the importance of making the Loss and Damage Fund operational.
