Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission has said that without climate justice, there can be no long-term action against climate change.
Von der Leyen was reacting to the outcome of the just concluded UN climate change conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where nearly 200 countries reached a historic agreement to establish a “loss and damage” fund to aid vulnerable countries severely impacted by climate change.
In her words, “the UN climate change conference COP27 marks a small step towards climate justice. We have treated some of the symptoms but have not cured the patient of their fever.
“We are rebuilding trust. This is crucial moving forward because there can be no lasting action against climate change without climate justice.”
Read also: Cop27: Some of the key outcomes
The EU leader said that the COP27 kept the target of a temperature rise of no more than 1.5C alive, but pointed out that neither new climate mitigation commitments nor the world’s largest emitters’ pledge to phase out fossil fuels has been fulfilled.
The “loss and damage” fund is a major victory for underdeveloped and developing nations, which have long demanded financial compensation for natural disasters caused by climate change.
The agreement was reached on Sunday following lengthy negotiations with representatives from nearly 200 different nations that went past the summit’s intended deadline of Friday.
Story adapted from Anadolu Agency.
