Countries agree on ‘loss and damage’ fund, final COP27 deal elusive

Ministers deliver statements during the closing plenary at the COP27 climate summit in Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 20, 2022. REUTERS

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — Countries agreed early Sunday at the COP27 climate summit to set up a fund to help poor countries being battered by climate disasters, but paused before backing a wider deal outlining global resolve to fight climate change.

After tense negotiations that ran through the night, the Egyptian COP27 presidency released a text of the draft agreement – and simultaneously called a plenary session to gavel it through as a final, overarching agreement.

The session approved the text’s provision to set up a “loss and damage” fund to help developing countries bear the immediate costs of climate-fueled events such as storms and floods.

But immediately after, Switzerland called for a 30-minute suspension to allow time to study the new text. Negotiators earlier had expressed worry about changes being negotiated and written so late in the process.

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