Meeting of the Parliament 06 December 2022
I ask the member to allow me to make a little more progress first.
What did COP27 achieve? It has seen the clearest acknowledgement to date that the people who are least responsible for global warming are often the ones who are suffering its worst consequences. It is fundamentally a matter of human rights. That recognition led to a watershed agreement at COP27 to establish a global fund for loss and damage to provide financial assistance to developing countries that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Questions about who will pay into the fund and who will be able to draw from it still have to be answered, and it is clear that much remains to be resolved. Despite that, however, the agreement alone is a hugely important achievement after 30 years of lobbying by leaders from the countries and communities that are worst impacted by climate change. It is those leaders’ tenacity and resolve that lie behind the breakthrough. Particular recognition must go to Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change, Sherry Rehman, whom the First Minister met at COP, for her ability to bring parties together on the issue and for putting forward a meaningful proposal on behalf of the G77 and China negotiating group.
Last year, the Scottish Government became the first global north Government to announce funding to address loss and damage, and we have now increased our commitment to £7 million. As one of the first movers, our action has helped to catalyse a total of over $300 million in international pledges, which demonstrates the progress that has been made in just one year.
We also helped to keep the focus on the practicalities of funding for loss and damage, for which we set the scene at our October loss and damage conference, which focused on practical action. The report from that conference was referenced throughout COP and used to inform the negotiations. How to fund loss and damage in a way that meets the needs of the most vulnerable communities will be debated over the next year and beyond as negotiators seek to put the COP27 loss and damage agreement into practice.
However, alongside that success, it is deeply disappointing that the recognition of loss and damage has not been matched by greater action in preventing a worsening of the climate crisis. Keeping 1.5 alive and delivering the fastest possible transition away from fossil fuels are key to preventing greater loss and damage in the future. It is simply not good enough that countries have failed to make progress on that agenda and that there has been such a strong pushback on the action that we all know is needed if 1.5° is to remain truly within our reach.
I give way to Monica Lennon.