South Korea pledges $7mn for loss and damage fund

South Korea today has pledged $7mn to the UN loss and damage fund, to address the unavoidable and irreversible effects of climate change in developing countries.

Loss and damage falls under a wider climate finance theme. Discussions of the topic, often fraught, can hold back progress in other areas, such as mitigation — cutting emissions.

After years of negotiations, countries agreed at the UN Cop 27 climate summit in November 2022 to establish the loss and damage fund. Talks on the fund dominated Cop 27 and climate finance is set to take centre stage again at Cop 29 in November.

The second meeting of the fund's board is underway in Songdo, South Korea until 12 July. Countries agreed on the loss and damage fund's setup at last year's Cop 28, while several made financial pledges totalling over $700mn.

The fund's board has 26 members, including 12 representing developed countries and 14 from developing nations. Of the latter, there are two apiece representing small island developing states and least developed countries, according to UN classification. These countries are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Board members decided today that the Philippines will be the board's host country. The board had previously approved the World Bank as the fund's interim host.

The board meeting this week should agree on the workplan for this year, and "kick off discussions on key issues around observer participation, communities' direct access to funding, and the types of financial instruments", director of policy and campaigns at non-governmental organisation ActionAid Brandon Wu said. But "most major decisions on those topics will likely come later this year", Wu added.

By Georgia Gratton