How the Glasgow Dialogue can deliver finance for victims of the climate crisis

(Climate Home News, 20 Dec 2021) A top priority for many developing countries at last month’s UN climate talks was to secure finance for “loss and damage” – the cost of major climate change impacts that can no longer be avoided, from major crop failures to homes becoming uninhabitable.

Loss and damage is already happening, trapping people in poverty and threatening their human rights. By 2030, the economic costs in developing countries are expected to reach $200–580 billion. Yet eight years after the creation of the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage, affected communities are still getting only minimal help, mainly as post-disaster humanitarian aid.

Developing country negotiators and activists saw Cop26 as a make-or-break point for loss and damage. They pushed hard for a dedicated fund, but it was ultimately excluded from the negotiated outcome. Instead, the “Glasgow Dialogue” was established to explore ways to fund loss and damage.   

The process will run through 2024, so those in urgent need may still not get any help for several years. Yet this is the first time the need for dedicated loss and damage finance has been recognised in a Cop decision. It is important to seize this opportunity. 

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Climate Home News, 20 Dec 2021: How the Glasgow Dialogue can deliver finance for victims of the climate crisis