The United States “fully supports” the issue of the disproportionate harm suffered by poor countries from climate change being discussed at COP27, which opens in less than two weeks, the United States said on Wednesday. US climate envoy John Kerry.
The most vulnerable countries, which are also the least responsible for global warming, are calling for specific funds to compensate for “losses and damages” caused by the climate crisis. This issue is set to be one of the main points of discussion at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference, which will take place from November 6 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
“We need to take it to the next level and have a real dialogue about how the world will deal with loss and damage,” John Kerry said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“We are ready to discuss in Sharm el-Sheikh all the ways in which we can try to be fair and to join the world’s efforts to help solve the concerns of many countries,” he said. “So we are fully committed to addressing loss and damage related to UN processes.”
This theme is mentioned in the Paris climate agreement, but the developed countries, which have built their wealth on fossil fuels, are resistant to the issue being treated as such.
“I hope that this will be the year that everybody kind of gets on the same page, recognizing that there are particular disparities that require particular attention,” John Kerry said.
He recalled that Africa accounts for only 3% of greenhouse gas emissions, although 17 of the countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis are on this continent.
Washington will make “announcements at COP27 on (its) support to Africa on adaptation” in the face of climate change, he said on Wednesday.
In addition, “we must find new mechanisms to unlock financing (…) to help countries make their transition” to clean energy, he said.
Washington will work at COP27 “to develop multilateral guidelines for banks to make more money available for lending,” he said.
