COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber addressed the ‘First Meeting of the Board of the Fund for responding to loss and damage’ and urged Parties to “build on progress” and deliver “lasting, positive, socio-economic impact” to help the most vulnerable to climate change.

During his address, Dr. Al Jaber said that while delivering an agreement to operationalize the Fund at COP28 was a “huge breakthrough for climate progress” more needs to be done.

The COP28 President said: “Let’s make sure we build on that progress with a fully functioning fund. A Fund that is endorsed at COP29 in Baku, a Fund that is disbursing funds soon after and a Fund that delivers lasting, positive, socio-economic impact for decades to come.”

Loss and damage was first put on the COP agenda in 1991 and that “while it took over three decades to establish this Fund, climate change has not stood still. Every region of the world is now vulnerable…the impacts of climate change are a clear and present danger to lives and livelihoods everywhere.”