The forging of an agreement at the Cop27 climate change summit in Egypt to set up a loss and damage fund to support poorer nations for the harm caused by climate change is a significant milestone.
It is more than three decades since the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, representing other vulnerable island nations, introduced loss and damage to UN climate negotiations.
Agreement has been so slow in the making in part because developed nations, worried by the prospect of an enormous bill and legal liabilities, have been reluctant to address issues related to compensation.
What is loss and damage?
Loss and damage refers to the harmful effects of climate change, both economic (including damage to infrastructure or crops) and non-economic (including loss of life and biodiversity), that cannot be prevented through mitigation or dealt with by adaptation to a changing climate.
It results from both extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storms or heavy rainfall, and slow-onset climatic changes, including sea level rises, the acidification of seas, and desertification.
Attributing harm to climate change can be difficult, but organisations such as the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment have noted that there has been much progress in the field of “attribution science”.
The damaging effects of climate change are diverse and reflect the complexity of how greenhouse gases affect the climate.
As an example, they include changes to tuna migration patterns in the Pacific that, the London think tank Chatham House has reported, could reduce government revenue in island states there by $140 million a year.
Another example are the recent floods in Pakistan, thought to have been made more severe because of climate change. These cost more than 1,700 lives, destroyed more than two million homes and caused damage estimated at $40 billion in total.
Who should foot the bill?
Developed nations have historically been the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, so are often seen as being under an obligation to support developing nations, most of which have contributed much less to climate change.
The Centre for Global Development has said that 79 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions released between 1850 and 2011 came from developed nations.
The US alone accounts for about one fifth of the 2.504 gigatonnes of CO2 released between 1850 and 2021.
However, while China is often still considered a developing country, it is the second-biggest cumulative emitter, having released 0.284 gigatonnes of CO2. In recent negotiations, the EU has argued that China should contribute to loss and damage compensation.
Africa as a whole is responsible for less than 4 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions over time.
A country’s per capita rather than absolute emissions are also an important consideration, while some academics have suggested that recent emissions, coming when the effects of climate change are well known, should count for more when determining responsibility.
Loss and damage compensation typically refers to present-day harm, but some have argued that there should also be climate reparations — from corporations as well as countries — to reflect liability for past harm.
How much could loss and damage cost?
Until now, the states that are suffering the worst effects of climate change have been faced with covering the costs of loss and damage themselves.
Estimates suggest that the V20 nations — the Vulnerable Twenty Group of countries that face severe impacts yet find it difficult to deal with them — have experienced losses of more than half a trillion dollars during the past two decades. As climate change’s effects become more severe, the bill is set to soar.
“Depending on the extent of global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, loss and damage from climate change that goes beyond adaptation could cost developing countries a total of $290 billion to $580 billion in 2030 and reach $1 trillion to $1.8 trillion in 2050,” the Grantham Institute said, citing UN figures.
A UN-backed report, Finance for Climate Action, released earlier this month, said that developing nations excluding China would need $2 trillion a year to deal with climate change.
But a previous target for developed nations to provide a fraction of this, $100 billion a year, has been missed, highlighting the difficulties in securing funds for loss and damage.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The%20specs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
