BY JOEL KIRKLAND, Power Switch
The United Nations climate summit, COP 28, in Dubai, began with a parade of wealthy nations offering big cash pledges to help poorer countries cope with global warming.
Related:
COP28 Talks Reach Deal on Much-Debated Climate-Damage Fund (WSJ)
COP28 kicks off with climate disaster fund victory (Reuters)
COP28 Climate Talks Come to Oil Country (Bloomberg News)
That could put pressure on China, the world’s biggest climate polluter, to contribute money to the cause after nearly 200 nations agreed today to a framework for a new global fund meant to help vulnerable people.
Right off the bat, the United Arab Emirates pledged $100 million for the fund, write Zia Weise and Sara Schonhardt. The pledge seemed aimed at defusing critics who question whether the oil-rich country hosting the climate conference can be an honest broker.
Germany pried open its checkbook and added another $100 million pledge. The European Union promised almost $250 million.
Then there came the United States, with a $17.5 million pledge.
As tiny as it was, the U.S. pledge was notable because the Biden administration — and pretty much every administration before it — has resisted the creation of a “loss and damage” fund (in U.N. jargon). President Joe Biden’s support came only after other nations agreed that contributions would be voluntary and couldn’t require something akin to climate reparations for the damage done over a century of U.S. industrial growth.
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