Dubai, UAE — “World Bank has offered to host the Lost and Damage Fund, so we’ll work very closely with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) to create that fund,” according to a World Bank’s official.
In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) during the climate summit, Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank’s Senior Managing Director (SMD) responsible for Development Policy and Partnerships, said, “COP28 started with great announcements on the Loss and Damage Fund. I think it has been an extremely important decision, and it now needs to be set up.”
Trotsenburg said, “This is actually a negotiation among the key stakeholders. So they will have to set up the governance structure and how people could be eligible for the resources.”
He added, “This is a very positive step that about a dozen countries have come forward already with pledges, which is a very strong political signal.”
Regarding the UAE’s role in COP28, the World Bank official said, “Well, we are extremely pleased to be here at the COP28. The UAE has worked very hard during the whole year to organise this.”
Trotsenburg said that countries are faced with different challenges related to climate change. He pointed out that small island countries with rising sea levels have different challenges than those in coastal regions. Therefore, solutions must be tailored to each country, but there is a global challenge in this regard.
“We need to be global. We need all countries to participate in this global challenge,” he noted, adding, “We need to make sure that we can keep the 1.5 degrees. So that means consequences for all of us.”
