What Did UN Climate Negotiators Agree to in Egypt?
2022-11-22
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1Countries closed the United Nations' COP27 climate meeting on Sunday with a deal to establish a fund to help poor countries suffering weather disasters.
2The agreement said that poor countries, with limited money, are most affected by extreme weather events like floods, heat waves and storms.
3It established a committee to set up a fund to help deal with bad weather events.
4The Associated Press described the deal as marking a diplomatic victory for small islands and other nations affected by extreme weather.
5They won over attendees, including the United States and the European Union, which had resisted the idea of "loss and damage."
6They feared that such a fund could open them to legal responsibility for historic release of carbon gasses from industry and agriculture.
7Carbon gasses are blamed for warming the Earth's atmosphere.
8Government leaders, environmentalists and activists celebrated plans for a fund.
9But there are remaining questions including how it will work and who will have long-term responsibility.
10Here is a look at the development of the idea of paying for "loss and damage" from weather events and what is known about the fund.
11The Alliance of Small Island States is a group of coastal and small island countries.
12In the early 1990s, the group began calling for the establishment of a loss and damage fund.
13The call came as the United Nations was creating a structure to limit carbon gasses at an international level.
14Since then, the idea has been a part of yearly U.N. climate meetings.
15Developing nations and climate activists have pushed for the fund.
16 But wealthy nations did not support the idea.
17At this year's climate meeting, the idea of "loss and damage" was included in the program and became part of discussions.
18The climate representative for the Marshall Islands said she was "worn out" but happy with the fund's approval.
19"So many people all this week told us we wouldn't get it," Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner said. "So glad they were wrong."
20The fund will first seek donations from developed countries and other sources, such as international financial organizations.
21Other nations could also join with their own offerings.
22The agreement calls for "identifying and expanding sources of funding.
23That is something the U.S., the E.U. and other nations had pushed for during negotiations.
24The term suggested that other nations that are both producing a lot of carbon gasses and considered developing should also pay into the fund.
25During the talks, Chinese officials said money for the new fund should come from developed countries, not China.
26But in 2014, China voluntarily paid $3.1 billion to the Green Climate Fund after a promise of $3 billion from the U.S. China is the world's biggest producer of carbon gasses.
27In a statement, U.S. climate representative John Kerry said he would continue to press countries like China to "significantly enhance their ambition" in keeping the 1.5 Celsius goal alive.
28The U.N. has set a goal of limiting the increase of the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
29Details about which countries will pay into the fund will be decided by a committee established in the agreement.
30The committee is to have 24 members.
31These are to include three from Africa, two from small island developing states, and two from the least developed countries in the world.
32The deal says the fund will assist "developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change."
33But middle-income countries that are severely affected by weather disasters are also under consideration.
34Countries that could receive funding include Pakistan, which suffered widespread flooding, and Cuba, which was recently hit by Hurricane Ian.
35David Waskow is the World Resources Institute's international climate director.
36He said "agencies that are out there doing humanitarian work, helping people rebuild, dealing with migration and refugee crises, dealing with food security, water security" will need to see how their work fits in with the fund.
37Those details will also be negotiated out by the committee in the coming year.
38Attendees said agreeing to discuss the fund is a big step forward.
39But observers say how quickly the fund is set up will decide how happy countries will be with it.
40In 2009, rich nations agreed to provide $100 billion a year to help developing countries move to energy systems that produce smaller amounts of carbon gasses.
41However, that plan has never been fully supported financially.
42In the closing meeting Sunday, Antigua's Lia Nicholson said the committee should be set up immediately and given clear orders.
43"This loss and damage fund must become the lifeboat that we need it to be," she said.
44One of the main reasons that rich nations long opposed such a loss and damage fund was the fear that it would open them up to legal responsibility, called liability.
45Negotiators made sure the term "liability" was not included and that money paid to the fund was voluntary.
46I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
47And I'm Caty Weaver.
1Countries closed the United Nations' COP27 climate meeting on Sunday with a deal to establish a fund to help poor countries suffering weather disasters. 2The agreement said that poor countries, with limited money, are most affected by extreme weather events like floods, heat waves and storms. It established a committee to set up a fund to help deal with bad weather events. 3The Associated Press described the deal as marking a diplomatic victory for small islands and other nations affected by extreme weather. They won over attendees, including the United States and the European Union, which had resisted the idea of "loss and damage." They feared that such a fund could open them to legal responsibility for historic release of carbon gasses from industry and agriculture. Carbon gasses are blamed for warming the Earth's atmosphere. 4Government leaders, environmentalists and activists celebrated plans for a fund. But there are remaining questions including how it will work and who will have long-term responsibility. Here is a look at the development of the idea of paying for "loss and damage" from weather events and what is known about the fund. 5History 6The Alliance of Small Island States is a group of coastal and small island countries. In the early 1990s, the group began calling for the establishment of a loss and damage fund. The call came as the United Nations was creating a structure to limit carbon gasses at an international level. 7Since then, the idea has been a part of yearly U.N. climate meetings. Developing nations and climate activists have pushed for the fund. But wealthy nations did not support the idea. 8At this year's climate meeting, the idea of "loss and damage" was included in the program and became part of discussions. 9The climate representative for the Marshall Islands said she was "worn out" but happy with the fund's approval. "So many people all this week told us we wouldn't get it," Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner said. "So glad they were wrong." 10Who will pay into the fund? 11The fund will first seek donations from developed countries and other sources, such as international financial organizations. Other nations could also join with their own offerings. 12The agreement calls for "identifying and expanding sources of funding. That is something the U.S., the E.U. and other nations had pushed for during negotiations. The term suggested that other nations that are both producing a lot of carbon gasses and considered developing should also pay into the fund. 13During the talks, Chinese officials said money for the new fund should come from developed countries, not China. But in 2014, China voluntarily paid $3.1 billion to the Green Climate Fund after a promise of $3 billion from the U.S. China is the world's biggest producer of carbon gasses. 14In a statement, U.S. climate representative John Kerry said he would continue to press countries like China to "significantly enhance their ambition" in keeping the 1.5 Celsius goal alive. The U.N. has set a goal of limiting the increase of the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 15Details about which countries will pay into the fund will be decided by a committee established in the agreement. The committee is to have 24 members. These are to include three from Africa, two from small island developing states, and two from the least developed countries in the world. 16Countries to receive money 17The deal says the fund will assist "developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change." But middle-income countries that are severely affected by weather disasters are also under consideration. 18Countries that could receive funding include Pakistan, which suffered widespread flooding, and Cuba, which was recently hit by Hurricane Ian. 19David Waskow is the World Resources Institute's international climate director. He said "agencies that are out there doing humanitarian work, helping people rebuild, dealing with migration and refugee crises, dealing with food security, water security" will need to see how their work fits in with the fund. 20Those details will also be negotiated out by the committee in the coming year. 21Rebuilding trust 22Attendees said agreeing to discuss the fund is a big step forward. But observers say how quickly the fund is set up will decide how happy countries will be with it. 23In 2009, rich nations agreed to provide $100 billion a year to help developing countries move to energy systems that produce smaller amounts of carbon gasses. However, that plan has never been fully supported financially. 24In the closing meeting Sunday, Antigua's Lia Nicholson said the committee should be set up immediately and given clear orders. 25"This loss and damage fund must become the lifeboat that we need it to be," she said. 26One of the main reasons that rich nations long opposed such a loss and damage fund was the fear that it would open them up to legal responsibility, called liability. 27Negotiators made sure the term "liability" was not included and that money paid to the fund was voluntary. 28I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 29And I'm Caty Weaver. 30Hai Do adapted this Associated Press report for VOA Learning English with additional material from Reuters and other sources. 31_____________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33fund -n. an amount of money that is used for a special purpose 34enhance -v. to increase or improve 35ambition -n. desire to reach a goal 36particularly -adv. especially 37adverse -adj. not good, bad 38_____________________________________________________________ 39We want to hear from you. 40We have a new comment system. 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