This has quickly become the key issue at COP27 -- and the most difficult to resolve - CNN

CNN  — 

Aftab Khan felt helpless erstwhile torrential floodwaters submerged a 3rd of Pakistan, his location country.

Khan’s hometown was wholly underwater. His person rescued a pistillate who had walked barefoot, carrying her sick child, done stagnant floodwaters for 15 miles. And Khan’s ain mother, who present lives with him successful Islamabad, was incapable to question location connected washed-out roads to cheque if her girl was safe.

“These are heart-wrenching stories, existent stories,” Khan, an planetary clime alteration consultant, told CNN. “I was heartbroken.”

Pakistan became the clearest illustration this twelvemonth of wherefore immoderate countries are warring for a alleged “loss and damage” fund. The conception is that countries which person contributed the astir to clime alteration with their planet-warming emissions should wage poorer countries to retrieve from the resulting disasters.

Earlier this year, Pakistan cooked nether a deadly vigor question that clime alteration made 30 times much likely, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Now it is reeling from the aftermath of the worst floods successful surviving memory.

The South Asian state is liable for little than 1% of the world’s planet-warming emissions, but it is paying a dense price. And determination are galore different countries similar it astir the world.

Loss and harm will beryllium halfway signifier astatine COP27 successful Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, this year, arsenic low-emitting countries inundated with floods oregon watching their islands descend into the water are demanding that developed, high-emissions countries wage up for this damage.

But it’s been a contentious issue for years, arsenic affluent countries similar the United States fearfulness that agreeing to a nonaccomplishment and harm money could unfastened them up to ineligible liability, and imaginable aboriginal lawsuits.

Climate activists successful processing nations and a erstwhile apical US clime authoritative told CNN clip is moving out, pointing to Pakistan’s cascading disasters arsenic the clearest grounds wherefore a dedicated nonaccomplishment and harm money is needed.

The processing satellite is “not prepared to support themselves and accommodate and beryllium resilient” to clime disasters, former White House Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy told CNN. “It’s the work of the developed satellite to enactment that effort. Commitments person been made but they’re not being delivered.”

As a concept, nonaccomplishment and harm is the thought that affluent countries, having emitted the astir planet-warming gases, should wage poorer countries who are present suffering from clime disasters they did not create.

Loss and harm is not a caller ask. Developing countries and tiny land states person been pressing for these kinds of funds since 1991, erstwhile the Pacific land Vanuatu archetypal proposed a plan for high-emitting countries to funnel wealth toward those impacted by oversea level rise.

It took much than a decennary for the connection to summation momentum, adjacent arsenic overmuch of Vanuatu and different tiny land Pacific nations are dilatory disappearing.

In Fiji, clime activistic Lavetanalagi Seru’s location island, it has outgo an mean of $1 cardinal to relocate communities due to the fact that of oversea level rise. Moving distant from ancestral lands is not an casual decision, but clime alteration is having irreversible impacts on the islands, said Seru, the determination argumentation coordinator with the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network.

“Climate alteration is threatening the precise societal fabrics of our Pacific communities,” Seru said. “This is wherefore these funds are required. This is simply a substance of justness for galore of the tiny land processing states and countries specified arsenic those successful the Pacific.”

A large crushed this benignant of money is contentious is that affluent nations are acrophobic that paying for specified a money could beryllium seen arsenic admittance of liability, which whitethorn trigger ineligible battles. Developed nations similar the US person pushed backmost connected it successful the past and are inactive tiptoeing astir the issue.

Khan said helium understands wherefore affluent developed nations are “dragging their feet.” But helium added that it’s “very important for them to empathize and instrumentality responsibility.”

There has besides been disorder astir its explanation – whether nonaccomplishment and harm is simply a signifier of liability, compensation oregon adjacent reparations.

“‘Reparations’ is not a connection oregon a word that has been utilized successful this context,” US Climate Envoy John Kerry said connected a caller telephone with reporters. He added: “We person ever said that it is imperative for the developed satellite to assistance the processing satellite to woody with the impacts of climate.”

Kerry has committed to having a speech connected a money this twelvemonth up of a 2024 deadline to determine connected what specified a money would look like. And US officials inactive person questions – whether it would travel done an existing fiscal root similar the Green Climate Fund, oregon an wholly caller source.

Kerry besides sparked immoderate contention connected the taxable astatine a caller New York Times event, erstwhile successful effect to a question connected nonaccomplishment and damage, Kerry seemed to suggest that nary state has capable wealth to assistance places similar Pakistan retrieve from devastating clime disasters.

“You archer maine the authorities successful the satellite that has trillions of dollars, origin that’s what it costs,” Kerry said astatine the event.

But others accidental the wealth is there. It’s much a substance of priorities.

“Look astatine the yearly defence fund of the developed countries. We tin mobilize the money,” Alden Meyer, elder subordinate astatine E3G, told CNN. “It’s not a question of wealth being there. It’s a question of governmental will.”

At COP27, the biggest statement volition beryllium implicit whether to make a dedicated fiscal mechanics for nonaccomplishment and harm – successful summation to existing clime concern meant to assistance countries accommodate to clime alteration and modulation to cleanable energy.

After climate-ravaged nations called for a caller nonaccomplishment and harm concern installation at COP26 successful Glasgow past year, it’s apt it volition beryllium an authoritative COP27 docket this year. But adjacent arsenic wealthier countries similar the US and EU nations person committed to speech astir it, there’s not a batch of anticipation countries volition look from Sharm successful statement astir a fund.

“Do we expect that we’ll person a money by the extremity of the 2 weeks? I hope, I would emotion to – but we’ll spot however parties present connected that,” Egypt ambassador Mohamed Nasr, that country’s main clime negotiator, told reporters recently.

But Nasr besides tamped down expectations, saying that if countries are inactive haggling implicit whether to adjacent enactment nonaccomplishment and harm connected the agenda, they’re improbable to person a breakthrough connected a financing mechanism.

He said it’s much apt that the nonaccomplishment and harm speech volition proceed implicit the 2 weeks of Sharm, possibly ending a model established for a financing mechanics – oregon clarity connected whether funds mightiness travel from caller oregon existing sources.

Some officials from climate-vulnerable nations warned that if countries neglect to travel to an statement now, the occupation volition beryllium overmuch worse later.

“For countries not connected the beforehand line, they deliberation it’s benignant of a distraction and that radical should absorption connected mitigation,” Avinash Persaud, peculiar envoy to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, told CNN. “If we had done mitigation aboriginal enough, we wouldn’t person to accommodate and if we’d adapted aboriginal enough, we wouldn’t person the nonaccomplishment of damage. But we haven’t done those things.”

Correction: An earlier mentation of this communicative misstated however overmuch wealth has been spent to relocate communities successful Fiji due to the fact that of oversea level rise. It's an mean of $1 cardinal per community, according to Lavetanalagi Seru.