The idea of a “loss and damage” fund has been around for decades; finally, this year, at the UN’s
27th global climate conference (COP27), history was made, with an agreement to establish a fund
to compensate countries for the losses and damages suffered as a result of the climate change
caused by high carbon emissions by the world’s wealthiest polluters.
This is an important, long overdue step in the right direction in the fight for climate justice. The moral
case for such a fund is undeniable: the world’s wealthiest countries industrialized and became rich
by burning fossil fuels; the emissions from those fuels are causing our planet to warm, leading to
more extreme weather. The countries who have contributed the least to global warming are on the
frontlines of climate change, with small island nation states in particular facing existential danger.
Many thought the establishment of such a fund was impossible — the victory is an important
achievement for climate activists around the world who refused to give up.
There is no time to rest, though — ensuring that significant funding is committed and creating a fair,
transparent mechanism for compensating developing nations will require much more work still.
And we cannot postpone action on other fronts.
The purpose of the loss and damage fund is to compensate developing nations from harms caused
by climate change. I have been very clear that the biggest polluters need to do so much more to
prevent future harms as well — the world needs to dramatically reduce emissions to prevent the
worst-case scenarios, while simultaneously recognizing that we are already entering a new climate
era, one that requires all nations and peoples to adapt.
Mitigation and adaptation have never been more urgent, yet the geopolitics of the moment — a war
in Eastern Europe, a global inflation crisis, and an energy crunch -- make progress difficult.
Although the moral case for action is unambiguous, I believe it’s also crucial to persuade political
and business leaders that progress is in their own interests as well. A future of climate upheaval is
a future of tremendous instability, one that threatens everyone.
Innovative financing solutions for the transition to clean energy are in their interests as much as
they are in ours.
Bahamians understand the urgency of the climate fight. We know we need to get stronger in the
face of more powerful and more frequent hurricanes. We know we need to make food security a
priority, so we don’t import so much of what we eat. And we feel deeply how unfair it is that each
hurricane leaves us many millions more in debt, and even as we put our fiscal house in order, our
vulnerability to future climate shocks — the risk of future hurricanes — is being priced into the
interest rates we pay. We are quite literally paying for other countries’ failures to curb emissions.
When I chaired a Caribbean Regional Heads of Government conference here in August, we worked
together to build consensus so we could stand up for our countries with a stronger voice at COP27.
Building more effective coalitions is an important part of our work.
Another key aspect of our climate advocacy is our effort to become the first country in the world to
sell blue carbon credits — so that we are compensated for protecting and restoring our mangroves
and seagrasses, which play a critical role in removing carbon from the atmosphere.
It was important to me last week to be accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Clay Sweeting,
who met with counterparts, scientists, and non-profits to bring home innovative ideas for investing in
agriculture and fishing during these challenging times.
Likewise, I was inspired by the young Bahamian activists who joined me.
This fight belongs to all of us.
The idea of a “loss and damage” fund has been around for decades; finally, this year, at the UN’s27th global climate conference (COP27), history was made, with an agreement to establish a fundto compensate countries for the losses and damages suffered as a result of the climate changecaused by high carbon emissions by the world’s wealthiest polluters.
This is an important, long overdue step in the right direction in the fight for climate justice. The moralcase for such a fund is undeniable: the world’s wealthiest countries industrialized and became richby burning fossil fuels; the emissions from those fuels are causing our planet to warm, leading tomore extreme weather. The countries who have contributed the least to global warming are on thefrontlines of climate change, with small island nation states in particular facing existential danger.Many thought the establishment of such a fund was impossible — the victory is an importantachievement for climate activists around the world who refused to give up.
There is no time to rest, though — ensuring that significant funding is committed and creating a fair,transparent mechanism for compensating developing nations will require much more work still.And we cannot postpone action on other fronts.
The purpose of the loss and damage fund is to compensate developing nations from harms causedby climate change. I have been very clear that the biggest polluters need to do so much more toprevent future harms as well — the world needs to dramatically reduce emissions to prevent theworst-case scenarios, while simultaneously recognizing that we are already entering a new climateera, one that requires all nations and peoples to adapt.
Mitigation and adaptation have never been more urgent, yet the geopolitics of the moment — a warin Eastern Europe, a global inflation crisis, and an energy crunch -- make progress difficult.
Although the moral case for action is unambiguous, I believe it’s also crucial to persuade politicaland business leaders that progress is in their own interests as well. A future of climate upheaval isa future of tremendous instability, one that threatens everyone.
Innovative financing solutions for the transition to clean energy are in their interests as much asthey are in ours.
Bahamians understand the urgency of the climate fight. We know we need to get stronger in theface of more powerful and more frequent hurricanes. We know we need to make food security apriority, so we don’t import so much of what we eat. And we feel deeply how unfair it is that eachhurricane leaves us many millions more in debt, and even as we put our fiscal house in order, ourvulnerability to future climate shocks — the risk of future hurricanes — is being priced into theinterest rates we pay. We are quite literally paying for other countries’ failures to curb emissions.When I chaired a Caribbean Regional Heads of Government conference here in August, we workedtogether to build consensus so we could stand up for our countries with a stronger voice at COP27.Building more effective coalitions is an important part of our work.
Another key aspect of our climate advocacy is our effort to become the first country in the world tosell blue carbon credits — so that we are compensated for protecting and restoring our mangrovesand seagrasses, which play a critical role in removing carbon from the atmosphere.
It was important to me last week to be accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Clay Sweeting,who met with counterparts, scientists, and non-profits to bring home innovative ideas for investing inagriculture and fishing during these challenging times.
Likewise, I was inspired by the young Bahamian activists who joined me.This fight belongs to all of us.
