US exits fund meant to compensate poor nations for climate change damage

Reuters reported that it had seen a March 4 letter by Rebecca Lawlor, the US representative on the board of the Loss and Damage Fund, informing the board’s co-chair of the decision to pull out.

“Both the United States Board Member and United States Alternate Board Member will be stepping down, not to be replaced by a US representative,” Reuters quoted the letter as saying.

The last meeting of the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund was held in Manila, Philippines, in December last year, and the next meeting is scheduled in April this year.

The Loss and Damage Fund was created at the COP27 climate meeting in Egypt in 2022 after several years of protracted negotiations. Developing countries, particularly small island states that face the greatest threats from climate impacts, had been demanding financial assistance in case of climate-related disasters, arguing that they were having to suffer due to a problem created by rich and developed countries.

About $750 million has so far been promised for the fund, of which the US has contributed $17.5 million. The US, in fact, is one of the very few countries to have already transferred its committed amount to the Fund. It happened before the Trump administration took charge in January this year. The fate of the transferred money was not immediately clear.

“The decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage not only exemplifies a longstanding pattern of obstruction by the U.S. government in securing necessary finance for addressing climate impacts but also undermines global efforts to deliver climate justice,” said Harjeet Singh, climate activist and founding director of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, who had played an important role from the civil society side during the negotiations on the Loss and Damage Fund.

“While their absence might keep the ambition of the fund from being diluted, it does not absolve the US of its responsibilities. As the largest historical emitter, the US bears a significant share of the blame for the climate adversities affecting vulnerable populations worldwide. We must hold them accountable and ensure they contribute their fair share towards global climate reparations,” he said.