COP27: Island Nations Urge China and India to Pay for Climate Destruction

COP27: The Prime Minister of the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda said on Tuesday that highly polluting growing economies like China and India should contribute to a climate compensation fund to aid nations in rebuilding after disasters brought on by climate change.

The remarks represented the first time the two countries had been included together on the list of significant polluters who, according to island states, deserved to be held responsible for the harm already caused by global warming.
Speaking on behalf of the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) negotiating group, Prime Minister Gaston Browne informed reporters that the first and third largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, although still being emerging economies, have a duty to contribute to a fund.

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For the first time in the history of global climate negotiations, conference attendees decided to include the subject of loss and damage to the official agenda.

"We all know that the People's Republic of China, India - they're major polluters, and the polluter must pay," according to Browne. He further said, "I don't think that there's any free pass for any country and I don't say this with any acrimony."
The term "loss and damage" in U.N. climate negotiations refers to expenses previously incurred as a result of weather extremes or impacts brought on by climate change, such as rising sea levels.

Climate-vulnerable nations have so far urged historical polluters like the US, UK, and EU to make amends for their climate-related harm.

China has in the past backed the establishment of a loss and damage fund, albeit it hasn't specified that it should contribute. The biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, China, should pay, according to the EU and the US. India is one of the leading emitters, yet its per-person emissions are much lower than the global average.

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By 2024, AOSIS hopes to build a multibillion-dollar fund with a complete commitment

Lead climate negotiator for Egypt, Mohamed Nasr, told Reuters that although there were still a variety of opinions, the purpose of the COP27 meetings was to gain some clarity on how to proceed with loss and damage.

"Now we have a starting point, so it is more streamlined and more focused and hopefully by the end of the two weeks we'll have something that would identify the road map, the milestones to deliver," he exclaimed.

The objective for the upcoming year would be to locate a method of distributing funding for loss and damage.

"We'll be looking at the different options. Is it a facility? Is it a new fund? Is it the existing funds? I mean there are a lot of options. What we heard from many countries is that they want to keep their options open," he added. 

Milagros De Camps, a deputy environment minister for international cooperation and another AOSIS negotiator, said there is a clear need for a new dedicated compensation fund from the standpoint of island countries like hers that experience more frequent and potent natural disasters like hurricanes and cyclones.

She told reporters, "We need specific fund fit for purpose… a separate operating entity. This is a matter of survival for small island developing states."

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