Explained: 'Loss and Damage funding' at COP27

The United Nations’ climate change summit opened in Egypt on Sunday with the inclusion of ‘loss and damage’ finance in the official agenda and India hoping that fair negotiations on it would follow.

Loss and damage is a term used to refer to the consequences of climate change that go beyond what people can adapt to, or when options exist but a community doesn’t have the resources to access or utilise them.

Financing or a new fund for addressing loss and damage – for example money needed for relocating people displaced by floods – has been a long-pending demand of poor and developing countries, including India. But rich countries have avoided discussions on it for over a decade.

“With the inclusion of this agenda item, India will be engaging constructively and actively on the subject during the course of discussions at COP27 and hoping that fair negotiations on loss and damage follow,” read a blog post written by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav.

“India welcomes adoption of agenda item ‘Loss and Damage’ at COP27,” the minister said.

The 27th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP) to UNFCCC will also see the country seeking clarity on the definition of climate finance.

At the talks, India will also emphasise that it is one of the few countries which has met the 2015 climate goals set in Paris, and stress on climate justice and sustainable lifestyles through Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘LiFE movement’ which stands for “Lifestyle for Environment”. LiFE stands for “Lifestyle for Environment”, a pro-people and pro-planet effort that seeks to shift the world from mindless and wasteful consumption to mindful and deliberate utilization of natural resources.

Yadav said India believes that climate action starts at the individual level and that PM Modi through the “LiFE movement” has provided a simple solution to the complex problem of climate change.

Yadav inaugurated the India Pavilion at the 27th Session of COP of the UNFCCC in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on Sunday. COP27 is scheduled to run from November 6 to 18.

At this year’s conference, developed countries are expected to push developing nations to further intensify their climate plans.

On the other hand, the developing countries would seek commitment to finance and technology needed to address climate change and resulting disasters.

The UN climate summit this year is being held in the shadow of the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the related energy crisis which has strained the capabilities of countries to urgently tackle climate change.