The Economist explains

What is climate “loss and damage”?

Poor countries want compensation for the impacts of climate change. COP27, in November, forced the issue

The effects of climate change are happening now it may lose more than 10 percent of its land to sea-level rise within a few decades in at Manpura island Bhola District in Bangladesh on Saturday, February 6, 2021. (Photo by Kazi Salahuddin Razu/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Editor’s note: On November 20th delegates at COP27, the UN climate summit, agreed to set up a new “loss and damage” fund to help cover the costs of climate damage in vulnerable countries.

DENMARK’S GOVERNMENT recently pledged just over $13m to developing countries that have suffered damage from climate change. The issue of such payments, known as “loss and damage”, is likely to be prominent at COP27, the UN climate talks in November. Egypt, which is hosting the conference, has said it will prioritise compensation for developing countries. What is loss and damage and why is it so contentious?

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