Commentary: COP 27 secured historic fund against the odds

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 23, 2022

For decades, developing nations have pressed for “loss and damage” money, asking rich industrialized countries to provide compensation for the costs of destructive storms, heat waves and droughts fueled by global warming. But the U.S. and other wealthy countries had blocked the idea. At the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Egypt debate resulted in agreement to establish a fund that would help poor, vulnerable countries deal with climate disasters created by the greenhouse gases spewed by wealthy nations. While American diplomats agreed to a fund, the money must be appropriated by Congress. With Republicans set to take over the House, the prospects of Congress approving an entirely new pot of money for loss and damage appear dim. The world is on a trajectory to warm by 2.1 to 2.9 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. Entire countries would disappear and the places we love and live in will be gone. ~ Rev. Richard Killmer, Yarmouth