KATHMANDU: The 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-28) has kicked off on Thursday with a call to expedite the collective climate action.

Started in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the conference will conclude on December 12. The Loss and Damage Fund has been formally launched on the first day of COP-28 following the demand for compensations by the developing and poor nations that bear the brunt of the climate crisis despite contributing little to it.

In the climate talks, the COP-28 Chief and Minister of the UAE Sultan Al Jaber said the establishment of the fund had spread a positive message, said the UNFCCC Secretariat. At the COP-27 in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh last year, rich countries agreed to set up a loss and damage fund.

On the opening day of the COP-28, USD 423.1 million has been pledged for the management of the fund. The funds are committed from the UAE and Germany (USD 100 million each), European Union (USD 145.6 million including from Germany), the United Kingdom (USD 75 million), the United States of America (USD 24.5 million) and Japan (USD 10 million), said climate expert Manjit Dhakal. The fund will be established in the World Bank on an interim basis after extensive talks on its structure, it has been said.

Before the conference, the transitional committee meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in October stressed that the COP-28 should pass the agreement on the mobilization of the loss and damage fund.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Forest and Environment of Nepal has said it would request for reliable and substantial finances to make the fund effective.

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