Regional tensions have been overcome by countries in Asia and they are now ready to appoint members to the UN committee due to work out details of a fund for climate victims.
It means every position on the committee on loss and damage has now been filled before its inaugural meeting scheduled to hold in Luxor, Egypt, on 27-29 March.
Countries agreed to set up a fund dedicated to help vulnerable countries address climate-related losses and damages at the Cop27 climate talks. However, major specifics on the breakthrough deal such as how the fund will operate, who will pay, who will benefit and how it will be governed remain to be worked out.
To do so, countries agreed to appoint a 24-member committee which carefully reflects geographies and groupings of countries based on wealth, to make recommendations ahead of the next round of UN climate talks in the UAE.
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The make-up of the committee includes 10 members from developed countries and 14 from developing nations.
Sources told reporters that competition between Asian countries was responsible for the Asia-Pacific’s delay in nominating the three members that would represent the bloc at the committee.
“It’s a fractious region,” a committee member from a different grouping told reporters. “Everyone hates each other. They have almost each had a war with the other and border skirmishes.”
To resolve the issue, the group appointed representatives from six countries to share attendance to three planned meetings this year. India, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia will share one seat, while China, South Korea and Pakistan will share the other.
Story was adapted from CHN.
