Click here to sign the faith letter to world leaders asking for a robust Loss and Damage Fund.
One great injustice of the climate crisis is the fact that poor countries – that contributed little to greenhouse emissions – are bearing the brunt of climate change, facing record drought, rising sea levels, heat waves, and floods. The Loss and Damage Fund aims to provide financial assistance to nations most vulnerable and impacted by the effects of climate change. It was a surprise breakthrough at last year’s UN Climate Conference, and is considered by Pope Francis to be an important step forward (LS46). Now, it is in the hands of world leaders who will gather next month for the climate conference in Dubai to determine just how this fund is shaped and whether it will benefit the most climate-vulnerable communities.
Faith leaders are calling on the UN members to shape a "fit for purpose" Loss and Damage Fund that truly meets the needs of people at the frontlines of the climate emergency. They call on it to be accessible, restorative, and representative, as well as efficient and effective.
In his recent papal exhortation Laudate Deum, Pope Francis urgently calls upon leaders of the world’s most developed countries to phase down fossil fuels, ramp up renewables, and recognize their responsibility in the devastation of communities that have lost homes, lands, and livelihoods to climate change.
Join us and add your name to this faith letter to world leaders, and invite others to do the same. Call on world leaders at COP28 to shape a Loss and Damage Fund that responds to the cries for justice across the world.
Photo of Pope Francis by Ricardo Stuckert/PR courtesy of Wikimedia