The cost of delay: Why finance to address loss and damage must be agreed at COP27

This brief presents a case as to why a loss and damage finance facility must be established at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27). Finance in the aftermath of an extreme climate- or weather-related event is a necessity to counteract long-lasting negative effects. Despite 31 years of pressure, 26 COPs and multiple workshops and dialogues, no dedicated finance to help people deal with the aftermath of climate impacts – also known as “finance to address Loss and Damage” – has been delivered under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The brief recommends that at COP27, the delay in mobilising finance for addressing loss and damage can end by:

• Ensuring that finance to address Loss and Damage becomes a permanent agenda item to be negotiated at COPs.
• Agreeing to establish a finance facility to address loss and damage under the UNFCCC, to coordinate an effective and equitable global response to climate-induced loss and damage.
• Agreeing to set up a system of predictable financial support for action to address loss and damage, which is new and additional to existing commitments. This should be rooted in the UNFCCC principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, as well as the international “polluter pays” principle.