A bench and play equipment are inundated with water amid flooding at a public park in Pakistan.

Photo: Amir Mukhtar / Getty Images

The effects of climate change – drought, flooding, more extreme storms and more – are disproportionately felt by the countries and communities who contributed least to the crisis. Establishing a Loss and Damage fund is a step toward helping those populations recover from the destruction they experience.

Shawoo and Bakhtaoui, SEI’s Loss and Damage experts, emphasize the need to give fund recipients decision-making power over how to spend the money and to deliver that support quickly.

Drawing upon their research published ahead of COP27, the authors critique the weaknesses of existing climate finance systems and point the way forward on how to maximize the impact of the fledgling fund.