Sir, – Over the coming days, global leaders gathered at COP28 must make progress on increasing levels of climate financing, as well as delivering on existing funding commitments, and ensuring funds reach the world’s poorest countries which are severely impacted by climate change.
The devastating impact which climate change is currently having on some of the world’s most vulnerable countries means there needs to be an urgency about the scale of climate finance commitments made at COP28 and a clear pathway as to how they will be delivered.
The announcement on the opening day regarding the Loss and Damage Fund is welcome, although we need to see the level of commitment by countries towards funding it in order to estimate how valuable it will be to impacted countries.
To appreciate the scale of the climate emergency, global leaders should pay attention to Somalia, where the drought which has ravaged the country for the last two years is currently being followed by the worst flooding in 35 years.
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Large tracts of the country are under water, leaving two million people in need of emergency assistance. Bridges have been washed away and homes and farms destroyed.
The evidence we are seeing in Somalia and in communities facing devastating floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones and rising sea levels means global leaders must urgently escalate measures to help those impacted.
Through the UN climate process, high-income countries committed to allocate $100 billion (€92 billion) annually by 2020 through to 2025 to help low-income countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the impacts of climate change. COP28 must show if that commitment has been delivered upon and provide a clear pathway to ensure it is achieved.
Climate finance agreements made at COP28 must also ensure funding reaches countries that need it most. Low-income countries where there is conflict and which are impacted by climate change often have greater difficulty securing climate finance.
Low-income countries are exposed to some of the most severe climate impacts, have the least capacity to adapt, and find it hardest to recover. They also have the fewest resources available with which to respond. They urgently require international support to help them deal with the impacts of climate change. – Yours, etc,
RÉISEAL NÍ CHÉILLEACHAIR,
Head of Global Advocacy,
Concern Worldwide,
Dublin 2.
Sir, – How is it possible that COP28 is taking place in what is one of the largest petro-states in the world? How is it possible that the conference president is chief executive of that country’s national oil company? How is it possible that the host city for a climate conference is a place of unbridled consumerism, known for Palm Jumeirah, extravagant shopping malls, desert golf courses and five-star hotels? How can one believe that those participating are taking seriously the enormous challenges facing our world? – Yours, etc,
CATHERINE BYERS,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.