Fossil Day 4: While hundreds march for climate reparations, the US remains unmoved on delivering its debt
Today’s Fossil of the Day Award goes to the USA for continuing to outrightly dismiss the demand from over 130+ developing countries, representing over 5 billion people, for a loss and damage finance facility.
Today hundreds of civil society delegates marched in sweltering heat in the COP27 venue demanding climate justice, reminding us all that real lives and livelihoods hang in the balance as rich nations continue to delay and distract from their climate obligations. Meanwhile, US Special Envoy John Kerry was blunt and cold in his statements on the US position here at COP27 on loss and damage finance.
He said: “The US and many other countries will not establish some sort of a legal structure that is tied to, you know, compensation or liability. That is just not happening, but for a whole bunch of countries.”
Well into week one of COP27, vulnerable nations have stood united in their demand for funding for loss and damage – the unavoidable impacts of the climate crisis that threaten to destabilize entire communities, through floods, cyclones, super storms and rising seas
The US claims it is working intensively with partners to find a good outcome on addressing loss and damage at COP27 but at the same time, it has not budged one bit on its public message which is: no new fund or facility for loss and damage.
As climate disasters escalate it should be clear that developing countries cannot wait any longer. Some rich nations have shown their openness to consider a loss and damage fund but the U.S. is continuing to be uniquely uncompromising.
We call out the US, the world’s biggest historical polluter, for this blatant refusal to deliver on their climate debt, leaving millions of people to suffer the consequences of climate impacts they did little to cause.
About CAN: The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network of over 1100 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in more than 120 working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. www.climatenetwork.org
About the Fossils: The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate talks in 1999, in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations climate change negotiations (www.unfccc.int), members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), vote for countries judged to have done their ‘best’ to block progress in the negotiations or in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
About the Rays: CAN gives out the ‘Ray of The Day’ award to the countries who are a ray of hope for the negotiations at the UN climate change conference.
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