Loss and damage statement

The under-signed organizations, recognising that the UN finds that climate disasters are now occurring at the rate of one per week and such disasters are set to cost at least $300 billion per year by 2030, call for an end to the stalemate in the negotiations on the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) and the creation of a comprehensive financing facility, including debt relief, for developing countries experiencing such disasters.

A new fund should be financed through regular contributions from wealthy countries and other means, such as taxes on financial transactions, international air travel, and fossil fuels. Funds should be disbursed to both governments and independent agencies, especially locally-based and women-led ones that are best able to reach those affected and/or contribute to lasting recovery and resilience.

An interest-free moratorium on debt payments should become automatic for developing countries experiencing climate disasters, in order to provide immediate access to resources which are already in the hands of the authorities and thus do not have to be mobilised through lengthy pledging exercises. This should be complemented by resources from the new fund and a pre-designed framework for restructuring the entire stock of existing public external debt while allowing sufficient fiscal space for reconstruction to avert future debt crises. To be effective the scope of the debt relief must be comprehensive, covering both private and official creditors.

Without a reliable and comprehensive financing facility to ensure finance to help countries cope with climate-induced loss & damage, the most vulnerable parts of the world will sink deeper into debt and poverty every time they are hit by climate disasters they did not cause.