UN climate negotiators agree on potential compensation fund for poor nations, says Maldives minister

Negotiators say they have struck a potential breakthrough deal on the thorniest issue of United Nations climate talks: creation of a fund for compensating poor nations that are victims of extreme weather worsened by rich nations' carbon pollution.

"There is an agreement on loss and damage," which is what negotiators call the concept, Maldives Environment Minister Aminath Shauna told The Associated Press Saturday. It still needs to be approved unanimously in a vote later today. "That means for countries like ours we will have the mosaic of solutions that we have been advocating for."

Saturday afternoon's draft proposal came from the Egyptian presidency. A second overarching document from the climate talks leadership ignores India's call to phase down oil and natural gas, in addition to last year's agreement to wean the world from "unabated" coal.

According to the draft of the compensation proposal, developed countries would be "urged" to contribute to the fund, which would also draw on other private and public sources of money such as international financial institutions. At the talks, the world's poorest nations, which contributed little to historic emissions of heat-trapping gases, have been unified in insisting on such a fund.

"We managed to make progress on an important outcome," said Wael Aboulmagd, who heads the Egyptian delegation. "I think we're getting there."

However, the proposal does not suggest that major emerging economies such as China have to contribute to the fund, which was a key ask of the European Union and the United States.

It also does not tie the creation of the new fund to any increase in efforts to cut emissions, or restrict the recipients of funding to those countries that are most vulnerable, which had been an earlier proposal from the Europeans.

Two drafts released by the Egyptian presidency, on efforts to step up emissions cuts and the overarching decision of this year's talks, barely build on what was agreed in Glasgow last year.

The texts leave in place a reference to the Paris accords less ambitious goal of limiting global warming to "well below 2 degrees Celsius" which scientists say is far too risky.

They also don't suggest any new short-term targets for either developing or developed countries, which experts say are needed to achieve the more ambitious 1.5 C goal that would prevent some of the more extreme effects of climate change.

Loss and damage has been the all-consuming issue at the two weeks of talks.

The EU made a surprise proposal days earlier tying a fund for climate disasters to emissions cuts that go beyond what the 2015 Paris climate agreement calls for. That landmark deal aims to limit global temperature increases to an ambitious 1.5 C, and no change this year could be interpreted as not strengthening efforts.

The meeting known as COP27 opened two weeks ago and had been scheduled to wrap up on Friday but looks set to drag on through the weekend.

Earlier on Saturday, government delegations and the meeting's Egyptian hosts pointed fingers at each other.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said responsibility for the fate of the talks "now lies in the hands of the Egyptian COP presidency."

She said the European Union had made clear overnight that "we will not sign a paper here that diverges significantly from the 1.5 Celsius path, that would bury the goal of 1.5 degrees."

"If these climate conferences set us back then we wouldn't have needed to travel here in the first place," she said.

Climate scientists have warned that if Earth warms more than 1.5 C, climate disasters would significantly worsen.

Egyptian president urges flexibility

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, speaking as the summit's chair, deflected blame.

"The issue now rests with the will of the parties," Shoukry said at a news conference. "It is the parties who must rise to the occasion and take upon themselves the responsibility of finding the areas of convergence and moving forward."

He added that "all must show the necessary flexibility" in reaching a consensus, and that Egypt was merely "facilitating this process."

In another setback, top U.S. climate envoy John Kerry tested positive for COVID-19 though he only has mild symptoms and is working by phone with his negotiating team and foreign counterparts, his spokesperson said late Friday.

Throughout the climate summit, the American, Chinese, Indian and Saudi Arabian delegations have kept a low public profile, while European, African, Pakistan and small island nations have been more vocal.

"These negotiations won't work if it's pitching one country against the other, one block against the other," said Irish Environment Minister Eamon Ryan, one of the lead negotiators on loss and damage. "The only way it will work is if we sit down in collaboration and recognize we have common cause because we are in common peril and the only solution can be a good solution."

Climate advocacy group Power Shift Africa's Mohamed Adow blamed the United States and the European Union, saying "they're the two groups of parties that are currently blocking and delaying the delivery of our solidarity outcome out of Sharm el-Sheikh."