ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday welcomed a breakthrough funding deal at the COP27 conference in Egypt to help poor countries ravaged by climate change, months after unprecedented rains and floods caused widespread death and destruction in the South Asian country.
The climate-induced floods killed more than 1,700 Pakistanis, affected 33 another million and submerged a third of the country, causing more than $30 billion losses to the frail South Asian economy.
Pakistan, as Chair of the Group of 77 and China, galvanized support for the establishment of the fund at COP27 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, first by having it placed on the agenda of the conference and then pushing for a consensus agreement.
"Pakistan congratulates the developing countries for their exemplary solidarity and steadfastness in pushing their case for a Fund for Loss and Damage," the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.
"We also appreciate the understanding and cooperation of the developed countries in recognizing the urgency to act on loss and damage."
Islamabad said it looked forward to early operationalization of the fund, hoping that it would bridge a major gap in the climate finance architecture.
The compensation agreement hammered out early Sunday in Sharm el-Sheikh calls for establishing the fund for “loss and damage” suffered by poor countries as a result of global warming.
The agreement came as a big win for developing nations that have long called for cash — sometimes viewed as reparations — because they are often the victims of climate-worsened floods, droughts, heatwaves, famines and storms despite having contributed little to the pollution that heats up the globe.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier welcomed the development on Twitter, calling it the “first pivotal step towards the goal of climate justice.”
He said it was now up to a transitional committee to build on the historic development.
“It’s been a long 30-year journey from demand to formation of the Loss and Damage Fund for 134 countries. We welcome today’s announcement and joint text hammered out through many nights,” Pakistan’s climate minister Sherry Rehman said on Twitter.
“We look forward to (the fund) being operationalized, to actually become a robust body that is able to answer with agility to the needs of the vulnerable, the fragile and those on the front line of climate disasters.”
A 2009 agreement for a $100 billion fund created by richer nations to pay for the development of poor nations was never fully funded.
