In 2024, the Loss and Damage Fund will be launched to support countries impacted by climate disasters, with 12 Arab countries eligible to receive its funding.

Following years of intensive negotiations, COP28 marked a historic agreement to activate the Loss and Damage Fund, a mechanism designed to support nations highly vulnerable to climate change by compensating for damages from extreme and unavoidable weather events. The fund, which the UAE and Germany pledged $720 million to, will be hosted by the World Bank for four years and managed by a board elected by UNFCCC parties.

What Is the Loss and Damage Fund?

The Loss and Damage Fund is essentially a financial mechanism to support countries suffering from climate change impacts, providing resources to rebuild critical infrastructure or replace it sustainably after floods or storms, for example. For years, developing countries, particularly those at the frontlines of climate-related disasters, have called for such a fund. These nations, especially small island states, disproportionately experience increasingly frequent extreme weather events like floods, droughts, and rising sea levels.

Eligible Countries

In its final decision, COP28 determined that all "particularly vulnerable" developing nations would be eligible for funding. The agreement leaves the definition of "particularly vulnerable" countries open, using Notre Dame’s Global Adaptation Index and the IPCC’s climate vulnerability map as temporary measures.

According to these sources, the 12 Arab countries most vulnerable to climate impacts include:

• Africa: Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Mauritania, Comoros, and Libya
• Asia: Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine

This initial eligibility may expand as negotiations refine the criteria, potentially allowing more countries to qualify in the future.