“We are out of time, out of money and out of patience. We need a Loss and Damage finance facility now!”
17 November 2022
Full press conference of 17 November available on:
CAN: Climate Action Network Press Briefing on COP27 | UNFCCC
17 November 2022:
Speaking at a press briefing today, civil society and government representatives underscored their demand that COP27 must establish a Loss and Damage finance facility.
Loss and Damage finance is not charity, a quarter of Pakistan’s territory was recently under water and 33 million people were displaced and impacted by the disaster. A clear political decision to establish a fund is necessary from COP27. This is a demand that the global South has been asking for, for 30 years. The COP Presidency has been saying COP27 is all about implementation, and Loss & Damage is about implementation, they emphasised.
At the press conference, H.E. Nabeel Munir, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to South Korea, said: “G77 and China have a paper on the table and we have proposed that a Loss & Damage finance facility or fund should be created at this COP. Loss and Damage is not charity. What we are asking for is not dole outs. A quarter of our country was underwater. We know it will take time to operationalise it, but a decision to establish a fund at this COP is necessary.”
H.M. Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s Minister of Climate Change, said: “We are out of time, out of money and out of patience. We must establish a Loss and Damage Finance Facility at COP27. The establishment of a Loss & Damage Fund will determine the success and failure of our collective leadership here.”
Thandolwethu Lukuko, National Coordinator at South African Climate Action Network, said: “The multilateral system we have is unable to address the very very serious concerns that we have. We need to see very decisive action taken by world leaders”.
H.M. Màiri Louise McAllan, Scotland’s Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform, said: “After 30 years of inaction, the Global South could so easily lose faith in multilateral consensus. But in this period of instability, the world needs to see countries collaborate. We must honour their faith with action. I hope at COP27 we can prove, in action, as well as words, our solidarity with those who are suffering the most”.
Contact:
For more information, contact Dharini Parthasarathy, Global Communications Lead, CAN International; email: dparthasarathy@climatenetwork.org, or WhatsApp/call on +918826107830
About Climate Action Network:
Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 1800 NGOs in over 150 countries, working to fight the climate crisis. www.climatenetwork.org .