By Elesha George
Caribbean countries will be approaching yet another global climate summit – the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP 28) – with loss and damage as a priority concern. But they aren’t just looking for another discussion or work programme. Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC told Observer during an exclusive interview that country leaders are looking forward to tangible results on the one thing that Small Island States like Antigua and Barbuda needs a lot of – money.
In 2022, when COP 27 concluded in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, a historic decision to establish and operationalise a loss and damage fund was reached. Now, as country leaders prepare to head to Expo City, Dubai in November, the Commonwealth Secretary-General said they will be looking forward to those funds to assist Commonwealth countries.
“After 27 years we got a commitment globally for loss and damage, and now we are going to go to COP 28 which will be the implementation COP 27, and it’s our determination that that promise of loss and damage should now be converted into real change and real delivery. So that our small and particularly developing States will get the advice, and the help and the support, and the money that they need to turn dreams into reality,” she stated.
In 2009, during the Copenhagen summit, industrialised nations pledged to provide a collective $100 billion in climate aid by 2020 to assist developing countries in mitigating the effects of climate change. However, as of now, only about $600 million has been delivered, leaving a significant gap between the commitment and actual contributions. Furthermore, the estimated amount required to achieve climate stability according to the Secretary-General, has surged to $4 trillion over the course of nearly 14 years since the initial promise. “It is a sadness that after all these years, we haven’t even got the first $100 billion . . . and we know that we need $4 trillion,” the Secretary-General noted.
The upcoming COP 28 is seen as an opportunity to at least put the $100 billion on the table, yet there is a recognition that more comprehensive financing is essential. To address this, the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CCFAH), spearheaded by Secretary-General Scotland in 2016, was created to aid small, vulnerable States affected by climate change. The funds channelled into the CCFAH will be tailored to provide specific solutions for individual countries, aiming to enhance the efficacy of climate resilience efforts.
Scotland said, “We have been pushing extremely hard to say that the funds we need at the moment are simply not sufficient to the needs that there are in the countries, and that’s why we’re seeking to expand out climate finance access hub.”
“We would like, if we had the money, to place a climate finance advisor in every single country that needs it, because we feel that that will exponentially improve the opportunities that we have,” she added.
In preparation for COP 28, efforts are also being made to unite various sectors. Secretary-General Scotland recently spoke with the Presidency of COP 28, sharing plans to bring together member States, businesses, and charitable foundations for a multi-sectoral approach to combating climate change.
“I have just been advised that there is a two-day meeting with businesses and with foundations before the main meeting of the COP, so that we can pull together all sectors to see how we can make the advances that we need to make,” she reported.
