After nearly a year of talks, government negotiators on Saturday struck a tentative deal on what a new fund for climate victims will look like.
But although they grudgingly agreed on what to recommend to Cop28, members of the loss and damage transitional committee warned that their bosses may want to reject this advice and re-hash debates in Dubai.
At Cop27 climate talks in Egypt last year, governments agreed to set up a loss and damage fund to channel money to those suffering from destruction caused by climate change. They tasked a 24-member transitional committee to work out the details this year and report back to Cop28.
After five gruelling meetings, that committee completed what co-chair Outi Honkatukia described as “mission impossible” on Saturday night at a five-star hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Developing countries conceded to let the World Bank host the new fund on a temporary basis, with a view to making it independent later. They had reservations about high costs and the US’ ideological influence on the World Bank.
The US, on the other hand, made limited headway in broadening the pool of donors expected to contribute.
Bad blood
US negotiator Christina Chan expressed the most unhappiness.
Her last-minute requests to weaken developed countries responsibility to pay into the fund were rejected by the committee’s co-chairs, who said it was a “take it or leave it” text as there was no time left to negotiate.
Although the meetings cameras did not pick this up, developing countries lead negotiator Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta claimed that Chan left the room as co-chairs were about to finalise agreement. “Leaving the room was meant to [paralyse] the committee,” Cuesta said.
But, hearing no objections, co-chair Outi Honkatukia banged her gavel to signal agreement. As negotiators applaud, the meeting room’s camera showed Chan walking across the room back to her seat.
A few minutes later, she said that she had objected to the text a couple of times.”If this is consensus-based, I’m not sure why there is now a decision,” she said.
On the other side of the debate, Egyptian negotiator Mohammed Nasr said he was “not happy with the text” but would accept it for now.
He added: “Once we are at the Cop[28], there will be discussions around the document… we have several reservations that we have highlighted.”
Bouncing her crying baby up and down, Armenia’s deputy environment minister Gayane Gabrielyan asked: “Is it we who will be the final decision-makers?”
She added: “I don’t think so. We are going to Cop. We are going to big bosses with our suggestions.”
Who pays?
A major split was that developing countries wanted more emphasis on the group of countries the UN classified in 1992 as developed being responsible for paying into the fund.
These developed countries wanted to broaden out responsibility to wealthier countries still classified as developing, like Singapore, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
They compromised on an agreement which "urges" developed countries "to continue to provide support" but only "encourage[s]" other countries to provide support.
It "invites financial contributions with developed country Parties continuing to take the lead to provide financial resources" for setting up the fund.
Celebrating the agreement, the EU's lead climate negotiator Wopke Hoeskstra posted on X that "all parties can contribute to it - and I believe that all who have the ability to should do so".
This evening, EU negotiators in Abu Dhabi reached an important agreement with global partners on #lossanddamage.
The world will get a fund focused on support for the most vulnerable. All parties can contribute to it - and I believe that all who have the ability to should do so.
— Wopke Hoekstra (@WBHoekstra) November 4, 2023
The negotiators agreed there will be a fundraising round for the fund every four years, like there is for the UN's Green Climate Fund. But donors can give money at any time.
Money can come from the private sector or from innovative sources, which aren't specified but could include taxes on fossil fuels, shares or airplane tickets.
Who benefits?
Developed and developing countries were split on who should be able to receive money from the fund, after governments at Cop27 agreed it should be restricted to developing countries which are "particularly vulnerable".
Developing countries argued they are all particularly vulnerable. But developed nations wanted to restrict funding to small island developing states (Sids) and the world's least developed countries (LDCs).
They settled on just repeating similar language to Cop27 that "developing countries that are particulaly vulnerable" to climate change are eligible. There is no agreed definition of vulnerability.
They agreed that all developing countries should be able to access the fund's resources when that is "consistent with policies and procedures" that the fund's board establish in the future.
The board will have a majority of developing country representatives, despite a US push to weight it towards developed ones.
Developed countries wanted to set up sub-funds, so they could finance their preferred areas like support for small islands, climate-driven migration or slow onset events like sea level rise.
But developing countries succesfully opposed this, arguing that the fund's board not the wealthy donor countries should decide where the money goes.
There will be a minimum floor for the percentage of money that goes to Sids and LDCs.
The EU's lead negotiator Wopke Hoekstra posted that the fund will be "focused on support for the most vulnerable".
Who hosts?
The US and other developed countries wanted the fund to be hosted by the World Bank.
This would mean it would be based at the bank's headquarters in Washington DC and its staff will be employees of the bank.
Developing countries resisted this, accusing the bank of charging high hosting fees, a weak climate record and compromising its fund's independence.
The bank's head is chosen by its biggest shareholder, the US government. Opposing the bank as host, developing countries lead negotiator Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta said last month: "We know the history. We know the politics. We know the manipulation."
Avoid our mistake: Don’t let World Bank host loss and damage fund
They compromised on making the bank the interim host for four years, with a number of assurances that the fund will become independent.
Celebrating the agreement, Cop28 president Sultan Al Jaber said in a statement that the committee had "broken deadlocks and found common ground to deliver clear recommendations".
He added: "Parties must seal the deal in Dubai... billions of people, lives and livelihoods who are vulnerable to the effects of climate change depend upon the adoption of this recommended approach at Cop28."
The post World Bank to initially host loss and damage fund under draft deal appeared first on Climate Home News.
World Bank to initially host loss and damage fund under draft deal
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A lawsuit filed by Greenpeace International against the U.S.-based fossil fuel company Energy Transfer in the Netherlands is moving forward after a Dutch court recently ruled in favor of the environmental organization in rejecting the company’s bid to toss out the case.
Greenpeace’s Dutch Anti-SLAPP Case Against Oil Pipeline Giant Advances
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The world has already lost more than half of its coral reefs, and most of what remains is at risk of disappearing in the next 25 years.
Climate Change
DeBriefed 19 June 2026: Bonn talks end in ‘gridlock’ | Energy’s ‘new era’ | Oceans in climate negotiations
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed.
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.
This week
Bonn talks close
‘SIDE-STEPPING AND STALLING’: UN climate talks in Bonn have ended in “gridlock”, according to Climate Home News. The outlet reported on the failure to balance developing countries’ need for climate-adaptation finance with “richer nations’ desire to move forward” on emissions cuts. It added that both topics were subject to “rule 16”, meaning no agreement could be reached and work will be pushed to the COP31 summit in Turkey. Inside Climate News quoted UN climate executive secretary Simon Stiell, who said the talks had seen “side-stepping and stalling”.
JUST TRANSITION: One “glimmer of hope” came from negotiations on achieving a “just transition”, reported Euronews. The news outlet said negotiators “made headway on operationalising the Belém-Antalya mechanism”, intended to support people in the shift to a low-carbon economy. However, Politico concluded that much of the focus in Bonn had “shift[ed] to efforts outside diplomatic talks – raising questions about the future of global climate negotiations”.
‘ATTACKING SCIENCE’: Agence France-Presse reported on the EU, Switzerland and “dozens of developing nations” warning of “attacks on science” by a “small group of fossil-fuels interests” in Bonn. Table Briefings explained that “the 1.5C target is increasingly being challenged” and the role of the UN climate-science panel – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – in an upcoming assessment of global climate progress “remains controversial”. See Carbon Brief’s full write-up of the talks for more detail.
US-Iran deal
PRICE DROP: The US and Iran announced that they have reached an interim agreement to halt the war and reopen the strait of Hormuz, reported Bloomberg. Oil prices have fallen, as the “long-awaited deal” began the process of “eas[ing]” the global energy crisis triggered by the conflict, according to the New York Times. The Associated Press noted that high fuel prices will “likely outlast the Iran war”.
‘OIL GLUT’: The Financial Times reported that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has forecast a “glut of oil” emerging next year, if the peace deal holds. The IEA said this would allow countries to build new strategic reserves, as they “review their energy strategies and policies in response to the crisis”, according to Reuters.
‘NEW ERA’: Agence France-Presse reported that oil and gas companies have “few illusions about a return to normal for the Gulf energy industry after more than three months of blockage”. One analyst told the newswire that the war “showed the oil and gas industry that Hormuz risk is no longer just a geopolitical headline”.
Around the world
- OCEAN MONITOR: The Trump administration is “abandoning its plan” to dismantle a $368m ocean monitoring system key for tracking climate change after a “bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill”, reported the New York Times.
- CORAL HAVEN: The New York Times covered preliminary research, presented at the Our Ocean Conference in Kenya, suggesting there could be three times as many “coral refugia” – where corals are relatively safe from climate change – than previously thought.
- BAD CREDIT: Down to Earth reported that the first carbon credits issued under the Paris Agreement’s new Article 6.4 mechanism are “facing scrutiny over alleged links to institutions controlled by Myanmar’s military junta”.
- OIL BACKTRACK: Reuters reported that oil-and-gas company Equinor has dropped a renewable-energy target and scaled back clean investments, while another Reuters story noted that Shell is selling off its offshore wind assets.
1.1 billion
The number of children facing “at least three overlapping climate hazards”, according to a new Unicef report covered by Agence France-Presse.
Latest climate research
- Including the “permafrost carbon-climate feedback” in climate models increases the chance of exceeding “tipping elements” – such as the Greenland ice sheets, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or Amazon rainforest – by up to 50% | Environmental Research Letters
- The intensity of influenza outbreaks could decline in temperate regions, but increase in tropical areas over the next century, as the climate warms | PNAS Nexus
- European snow cover has declined by 20% for December and January since the start of the industrial era, revealing an “unprecedented ongoing shrinkage of European winters” | Communications Earth & Environment
(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)
Captured
The more than 2m battery electric vehicles (BEVs), 1m “plug-in” hybrids (PHEVs) and 100,000 electric vans on UK roads are already saving drivers a total of around £3bn a year, according to new Carbon Brief analysis. This amounts to savings of more than £1,100 a year in fuel costs for each BEV driver in the UK. The analysis comes amid reports in UK media this week that the government is considering “watering down” its EV sales targets.
Spotlight
Oceans rising at UN climate talks
The state of the world’s oceans is inextricably linked to the changing climate – and many delegates at UN climate talks want to see more focus on this issue, reports Carbon Brief.
Oceans are often described as the world’s “greatest ally” against climate change – absorbing 30% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and most of the heat generated by those emissions.
They are also the site of important climate solutions, such as huge offshore windfarms and the shipping industry’s transition to cleaner fuels.
At the same time, the oceans themselves present a growing danger to coastal communities and sea life due to sea level rise, marine heatwaves and ocean acidification.
These diverse issues have led to growing calls within the UN climate process for more focus on oceans. During climate negotiations this week in Bonn – known as SB64 – nations and civil society had a chance to air these views during an “ocean and climate change dialogue”.
‘Elevate action’
Oceans first entered UN climate outcomes in 2019, when the final COP25 negotiated text requested a new “dialogue” on “the ocean and climate change to consider how to strengthen mitigation and adaptation action”.
The following years saw this dialogue established as an annual event. However, the political weight of these discussions has been limited.
COP31 is being co-led by Turkey and Australia, but with Pacific islands playing a supporting role. These small islands sometimes self-identify as “large ocean states”, stressing the ocean’s centrality in their societies.
In Bonn, figures from across the presidency threw their weight behind this issue. Chris Bowen, an Australian minister and incoming COP31 “president of negotiations”, told attendees:
“Australia, Turkey and the Pacific see an important opportunity to elevate ocean-based climate action.”
Strategies and finance
The two-day dialogue in Bonn involved a series of panels, statements and breakout groups.
One of the main topics was how oceans are integrated into national climate plans under the Paris Agreement, known as “nationally determined contributions” (NDCs).
Three-quarters of the latest round of NDCs mention oceans, with conservation of “blue carbon” ecosystems the most frequently described action. (Landscapes such as mangroves can both absorb CO2 and protect coastal areas.)
Delegates also discussed alignment with the UN biodiversity process, as well as ocean finance, which currently makes up less than 1% of all climate finance.
(As discussions were taking place in Bonn, country officials also gathered in Mombasa, Kenya for the 11th Our Ocean Conference. Carbon Brief’s associate editor Giuliana Viglione attended the conference and will publish a full summary shortly.)
Developing countries were clear that many of the ocean-related actions in their NDCs would depend on receiving more financial support.
‘Political momentum’
With the backing of the COP31 presidency, delegates were hopeful about where this year’s dialogue could lead.
Charles Hamilton, an advisor for the Bahamas who spoke for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in the dialogue, told Carbon Brief that island representatives “are not traveling thousands of miles to just talk and pat ourselves on the back”. He added:
“A dialogue that just remains a dialogue is just more talk – no action.”
Given that, he said “discussions in the dialogue must move into COP decisions and the decisions must be actioned”, noting the importance of finance.
Marina Corrêa, oceans lead at WWF-Brazil, pointed to an upcoming UN climate change Standing Committee on Finance forum as a space to ramp up pressure on ocean finance.
More broadly, she wanted to see the presidencies translate their support into a “leader-level ocean initiative” that could “mainstream” oceans across negotiations.
“We have a really interesting opportunity, in terms of political momentum,” Corrêa told Carbon Brief.
Watch, read, listen
‘HOTTER THAN HELL’: An episode of the BBC’s Rare Earth podcast titled “hotter than hell” considered the issue of extreme heat, with input from experts and “people facing up to the hottest temperatures on the planet”.
NOT BROKEN?: John Drake, a professor of ecology at the University of Georgia, wrote an essay for Aeon – also re-published as a Guardian “long read” – questioning the framing of ecosystems and climate systems “breaking down”.
ON COURSE: On his Volts podcast, US climate journalist David Roberts interviewed UK climate minister Katie White, quizzing her about whether the UK will “stay the course with its climate plans”.
Coming up
- 20-28 June: London climate action week
- 21 June: Colombia presidential runoff
- 24 June: UK Climate Change Committee progress in reducing emissions 2026 report to parliament
Pick of the jobs
- Mongabay, managing editor – Africa | Salary: Unknown. Location: Global
- Contexte, environment reporter – Brussels | Salary: €45,000-€60,000. Location: Brussels
- Climate 200, communications director | Salary: Unknown. Location: Australia
- Energy Tracker Asia, energy transition correspondent | Salary: $3,000-$4,000 per month. Location: South-east Asia (remote)
DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.
This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.
The post DeBriefed 19 June 2026: Bonn talks end in ‘gridlock’ | Energy’s ‘new era’ | Oceans in climate negotiations appeared first on Carbon Brief.
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