SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Martin Kaiser, the head of Greenpeace Germany, described the agreement on loss and damage as a “small plaster on a huge, gaping wound.”
“It’s a scandal that the Egyptian COP presidency gave petrostates such as Saudi Arabia space to torpedo effective climate protection. They have prevented a clear decision on the urgently needed phaseout of coal, oil and gas,” he said, adding that the meeting “carelessly risks adherence to the 1.5-degree limit.”
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Harjeet Singh of the environmental group Climate Action Network International said the new fund had effectively “sent a warning shot to polluters that they can no longer go scot-free with their climate destruction.”
“From now on, they will have to pay up for the damages they cause and are accountable to the people who are facing supercharged storms, devastating floods and rising seas,” he said.
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“In a historic breakthrough, wealthy nations have finally agreed to create a fund to aid vulnerable countries that are reeling from devastating climate damages,” said Ani Dasgupta, president of the environmental think tank World Resources Institute.
“This loss and damage fund will be a lifeline for poor families whose houses are destroyed, farmers whose fields are ruined, and islanders forced from their ancestral homes,” he said. “This positive outcome from COP27 is an important step toward rebuilding trust with vulnerable countries.”
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