Youth climate activists from around the world are demanding justice and actions to address climate-induced loss and damage (L&D) from parties at COP27. Their campaign is on social media, using the hashtag #LossAndDamageFinanceNow! and lossanddamagefinancenow.org
Loss and Damage refers to the most severe impacts of climate change. From Bangladesh to Guyana, countries and communities around the world are currently experiencing Loss and Damage from climate-induced disasters. These disasters compound the existing health and economic crises caused by COVID-19. Still, developed country governments who have benefited from pollution are blocking the provision of finance to pay for loss and damage.
The demand is developed by members of the Loss and Damage Youth Coalition and partners of the #LossAndDamageFinanceNow! Campaign. Here is a summary of our demand for COP27.
All parties at COP27 must:
- Commit to urgently establishing a loss and damage finance facility which provides new, additional, and accessible funding to address and limit irreversible and life-changing impacts on young people.
- Ensure that the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage (SNLD) is fully operationalized to serve the needs of developing countries.
- Provide a proper finance mechanism to the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage that will allow developing countries vulnerable to climate change’s negative impacts to secure the technical assistance to express the gap and the need for concrete action.
- Prioritise children’s and youth’s rights, gender equality, and intergenerational equity in the operationalization of the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage.
- Ensure SNLD focal points at the national and international levels are identified, a clear role for the Warsaw International Mechanism, and a robust coordinating body with a mandate for meaningful youth engagement as a fundamental principle.
- We urge that Loss and Damage become a permanent agenda in all United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations at all Conference of Parties (COP), Subsidiary Bodies (SBs), and Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA).
- Loss and Damage should have contact points (LDCPs) at the national level, and each Party must designate the LDCPs by 2023, at COP 28.
- Loss and Damage must be included and profoundly reflected upon in the discussions under the Global Stocktake (GST).
- Establish a Youth Advisory Committee on Loss and Damage to develop a fair, meaningful, inclusive youth approach to making decisions and acting on loss and damage.
- Ensure transparency to sustain climate action in vulnerable regions located, especially in developing countries.
- Prioritise collaboration work between stakeholders and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the Pacific and monitor the impacts of climate change and how to resolve them through financing.