The COP28 summit in the United Arab Emirates scored its first major win on day one of its sittings by agreeing to operationalise the Loss and Damage Fund.
COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber said the Fund will assist developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
This is in the realisation that developing countries mostly in Africa bear the brunt of climate change despite contributing little to greenhouse gas emissions.
The Fund was first agreed upon during COP27 held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
"What was promised in Sharm El Sheikh, has already been delivered in Dubai,” Al Jaber said.
"The hard work of many people over many years has been delivered in Dubai. The speed at which the world came together to get this fund operationalised within one year since Parties agreed to it in Sharm El Sheikh is unprecedented," he added.
The decision to launch the Fund followed five transitional committee meetings hosted earlier this month in Abu Dhabi.
Al Jaber said the UAE will commit $100 million (Sh15.3 billion) to the Fund and revealed that other nations had also made pledges to the ambitious and critically important Fund.
He said Germany pledged $100 million (Sh15.3 billion), the UK £40 million (Sh7.7 billion) for the Fund and £20 million (Sh3.8 billion) for other arrangements; Japan $10 million (Sh1.5 billion) and the US committed $17.5 million (Sh2.68 billion).
The new development will certainly overshadow the negativity that preceded the opening of the summit after the BBC reported on Monday that Al Jaber planned to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations.
He denied the allegations.
The launch of the fund and subsequent pledge of contributions by rich nations is a welcome move by poor countries reeling from the effects of climate change.
It certainly counts as a long-awaited win for President William Ruto who has been at the forefront in advocating for most advanced countries to fund developing countries on climate change mitigation efforts.
Ruto rallied African political and business leaders to adopt the Nairobi Declaration at the close of the Africa Climate Summit in the Kenyan capital on September 6, 2023.
The Nairobi Declaration proposed new global taxes and reforms to international financial institutions to help fund climate change action in a declaration that formed the basis of Africa's negotiating position at the COP28 summit.
Al Jaber said the Loss and Damage Fund will enable the Parties to focus on the strongest possible response to the progress made toward mitigating global warming since the Paris Agreement in 2015.
"This Fund will support billions of people, lives and livelihoods that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change," he said.
"I want to thank my team for all their hard work to make this possible on day one of COP28. It proves the world can unite, can act, and can deliver."
Al Jaber said the Presidency will in the next two weeks work with Parties to deliver the highest-ambition response to the progress made since the Paris Agreement, best known as Global Stocktake.
