Loss and damage fund agreed on first day of Cop28
It was an action-packed opening day in Dubai as the Cop28 conference kicked off, and the world leaders don’t even arrive until tomorrow.
The big news of the day was that countries reached agreement on setting up a loss and damage fund to help countries deal with the impacts of climate breakdown, something that had long been a sticking point in negotiations
The UAE immediately pledged $100m to the fund, and was followed by contributions from the EU, led by Germany, the UK, the US and Japan, though the US in particular were criticised for their relatively modest pledge
The World Meteorological Organization said that 2023 would be the hottest year ever recorded. UN secretary-general António Guterres responded to the news by saying “We are living through climate collapse in real time”
A representative of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said coal is, and will continue to be, an important part of India’s energy needs
We’ll be back again tomorrow for day two, when the focus will be on world leaders’ speeches and the official opening of the conference, led by the UK’s King Charles III.
Updated
The Guardian will be hosting a livestreamed event on Tuesday discussing the extent to which fossil fuel companies are able and willing to transition into renewables.
It will feature the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, who will chair a panel including Tessa Khan, founder and executive director of Uplift; Christiana Figueres, the former UNFCCC chief; and Mike Coffin of Carbon Tracker.
More details can be found here:
