Loss and damage: How climate reparations are pitting the North against the South

As the climate crisis continues to wreak havoc across the world, frontline countries are seeking financial compensation for the mounting loss and damage.

These hefty climate reparations, they say, should come from the pockets of Western wealthy nations who bear historical responsibility for warming up the planet.

A 2020 report revealed the Global North is responsible for 92% of excess global carbon emissions since the advent of the Industrial Revolution when burning fossil fuels became the norm.

Low-income countries, many of whom are on the frontlines of climate change, are now disproportionally affected by extreme weather phenomena, such as devastating floods and longer-than-usual droughts, even though their contribution to the crisis has been very limited compared to that of the West.

In response, the Global South wants the international community to set up a new fund for climate reparations.

The money should be separate from the $100 billion needed every year for climate adaptation and mitigation because, in their view, this loss and damage is irreparable and won’t be restored through any project or investment.

A coalition of 134 developing countries, together with China, pushed to include reparations in the conclusions of COP26, the UN Climate Change Conference, but they were met with resistance from the US and Europe, which fear the scheme will bound them by endless legal claims.

A bid to set up a “Facility for Financing Loss and Damage” was downgraded to a “Dialogue on Finance for Loss and Damage.”

Despite the setback, the Global South is determined to bring climate reparations back to the table in November, when leaders and negotiators are set to meet again at COP27 in Egypt.

Watch the video above to learn more about climate reparations.