DUBAI, November 30. /TASS/. The countries participating in the COP28 summit in Dubai have officially approved an agreement to create a fund for providing financial assistance to developing nations as compensation for losses or damage incurred due to the effects of climate change, with the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change voting unanimously to adopt the document, TASS reports.
The decision to establish a special designated fund for responding to the challenges presented by climate change was first made as a result of the COP27 summit, which was held last year in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Representatives of countries in both the developed and developing worlds have been working on drafting the text of the agreement throughout 2023. It calls for a special financial mechanism to help vulnerable countries cope with damage suffered from drought, floods and rising sea levels caused by climate change.
After the procedure to adopt the agreement, some delegates immediately pledged to earmark money for the fund. Sultan al-Jaber, the leader of the COP28 climate talks, was the first, saying that the government of the United Arab Emirates would contribute $100 mln. UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan confirmed his country’s commitment to earmark $100 million on his page on X (formerly Twitter).
The heads of the German, British, US and Japanese delegations also pledged to contribute to the fund. The governments of these countries will allocate $100 million, 60 million pounds ($75.89 million), $17.5 million and $10 million respectively. The EU delegation has announced its intention to allocate 225 million euros ($245.93 million) annually to the fund.
COP28 will last until December 12. The conference will be attended by the leaders of more than 140 states and more than 70,000 delegates from various countries, including business executives and representatives of non-governmental organizations, as well as researchers, experts and journalists.