Transitional Committee Conducts Inaugural Meeting for Loss and Damage Fund

Key procedural milestones were set out by the Transitional Committee established to operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund (L&D Fund) in its first meeting held in Luxor, Egypt from March 27 – 29, 2023.

The body concluded its first engagement with the adoption of a work plan leading up to COP28, outlining the steps to be taken toward delivering recommendations at this year’s conference.

Four meetings are scheduled; the next will take place in June and will be followed by two others that will take place in August and September, respectively.

While the first meeting dealt with “house-cleaning” matters, the committee will focus on all elements of its mandated recommendation, aiming to reach a consensus one month before COP28.

Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, said at the first meeting, “You are here not just to construct a fund, but to create something much bigger: a lifeline for vulnerable people and places.”

The Loss and Damage Fund is to be used to assist developing countries address economic and non-economic loss and damage associated with climate change.

“Your work can be very impactful and help maintain the sense of trust, dialogue, and multilateralism that prevailed in Sharm el-Sheikh,” Stiell continued.

The Transitional Committee was established at the tail end of last year’s COP in Egypt, marking a historic moment.

“The Transitional Committee is responsible for operationalizing both the new funding arrangements and the fund for consideration and adoption at this year’s COP28 in Dubai,” UNFCCC’s report on the first meeting states.

During the first meeting, the 24-member committee, co-chaired by Richard Sherman of South Africa and Outi Honkatukia of Finland, exchanged preliminary views on the purpose and scope of the new funding arrangements.

The committee’s work leading up to COP28 will be pivotal for rolling out much-needed climate finance to developing countries directly impacted by climate change.