Press Statement by Sandeep Chachra on Climate Change Conference, Egypt

“The decision to establish the Loss and Damage Fund, delivered at the UN Climate Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, is a historic outcome. For the vulnerable and most impacted communities, it is another significant step on the long road to ending climate injustice. Communities suffering from loss of lives, livelihoods, habitats and futures will now have some hope for accessing compensation and protection.

While several countries tried to block it, the establishment of this fund is a direct outcome of the unified power of people’s movements and civil society and the unity of the global south.

The G77 best demonstrated this solidarity. It is anegotiation group of 134 countries, representing over five billion of the world’s population, including China, the largest developing country.  The Global South has stood firmly for the establishment of this fund.

However, continuing fossil fuel dependence risks breaching the 1.5 Degrees Centigrade target. Sadly, COP27 could not come to any decision to phase out all fossil fuels in a sustainable and equitable manner, including oil and gas. Nevertheless, the Indian proposal at COP27 was an important starting point. We hope that the future COP presidencies will not squander this opportunity and shirk from their historical responsibility to move away from a perilous path. Continued use of fossil fuels will only lead to the extinction of habitats, destruction of livelihoods, and loss of lives for indigenous peoples and majorities of our working peoples already battling precarity. The ever-growing climate movement expects COP28 to deliver on this urgent need for the majorities of our world.”

Sandeep Chachra

Executive Director

ActionAid Association