Early on Sunday, negotiators reached a historic agreement that would establish a fund to compensate poor countries that suffer from extreme weather made worse by carbon pollution from rich countries, but a larger agreement overall was still in limbo due to disagreements over efforts to reduce emissions.
Following the approval of the fund decision, discussions were suspended for 30 minutes so that participants may study the contents of the other items they would be voting on.
Speaking after the approval, Pakistan Climate Minister Sherry Rehman said “This is how a 30-year-old journey of ours has finally, we hope, found fruition today.”
Several climate experts also hailed the decision and described it as historic.
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The agreement was reached a few hours after the Egyptian Presidency, which had received criticism from all sides, presented a new loss and damage proposal.
However, Norway’s negotiator claimed that it was a result of countries working together rather than the Egyptians.
After the approval, the champions of the deal, Chilean Environment Minister Maisa Rojas and German climate ambassador Jennifer Morgan hugged each other and exclaimed, “Yeah, we made it!”
Story adapted from VOA.
