November 22, 2022
So COP27 landed a huge win for the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage fund for it to help developing countries mitigate the climate impact on their vulnerable economies. However, the details are still sketchy on the matter.
Several European countries have pledged a few dollars, a paltry $230M. To put this in perspective, The Bahamas lost $3.4BN from Hurricane Dorian in 2019 alone. We won’t even begin to talk about Hurricane Maria and Irma that swept the Southern Caribbean islands, leaving places like Antigua and Dominica looking like a nuclear bomb hit them.
The United States, the European Union and China have not agreed to the Santiago network because they distrust one another. Without these large economies committing to this network in totality, these pledges are hollow.
Also, what are “pledges” anyway? Has the money hit the bank yet? If it hasn’t don’t talk to me about pledges. I pledged all of my ex-girlfriends to do something nice for them at one time or the other. Half of these things never happened and won’t happen. LOL… So what in the hell are “pledges”??
We need more than this after all of the high points in COP26 that the developed countries played up because it was on European soil. Think we wouldn’t pick up on the developed countries hyping these international conferences that are on their soil, compared to when they happen on a developing country’s soil, huh? LOL…
But show me the money. Pledges are all “cap” as the young folks would say. Piss and wind. Put the money in the bank for legitimate climate change mitigating projects, or shove it.