Pakistan is leading a push by developing countries including Bangladesh and the Maldives for compensation from richer countries responsible for most of the world’s pollution…reports Asian Lite News
Britain has opened the door to paying climate change reparations to developing countries by supporting talks on the issue at the Cop27 summit.
On Sunday, at the meeting in Egypt, UK negotiators backed a last-minute agreement to address “loss and damage” payments to countries badly affected by climate-related disasters.
Rishi Sunak will appear at the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, where he will pledge £65.5 million for green technology in developing countries.
The Prime Minister will say: “By honouring the pledges we made in Glasgow, we can turn our struggle against climate change into a global mission for new jobs and clean growth.
“And we can bequeath our children a greener planet and a more prosperous future. That’s a legacy we could be proud of.”
Boris Johnson will also deliver a speech warning against the “naysayers” who threaten Net Zero targets.
Pakistan is leading a push by developing countries including Bangladesh and the Maldives for compensation from richer countries responsible for most of the world’s pollution.
The UK backed the issue being on the Cop27 agenda during two days of negotiations ahead of the Egypt summit and is understood to accept that a deal must be done over the economic cost of climate change, which is forecast to reach $1trillion by 2050.
On Sunday night, a Downing Street source said Mr Sunak planned to “scale up progress and support” for developing countries suffering the worst effects of global warming.
The Prime Minister will come under pressure in Egypt to agree to a costly deal on reparations at the same time as he draws up plans for sweeping domestic tax rises and spending cuts.
Labour has backed calls for the UK to pay other countries affected by climate change, with Ed Miliband, the shadow climate minister, calling it a “moral responsibility”.
Alok Sharma, who held the Cop presidency for the UK, also called for “ambitious outcomes” on the issue of loss and damage. Disagreements over it threatened to derail the success of last year’s climate talks in Glasgow.
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