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By Megan Rowling [[link removed]] | Acting Climate Editor

New fund in hot water

Having waited three decades to get action on growing loss and damage driven by global warming, developing countries weren't in a mood to roll over at last week’s talks on how the fund should be designed and managed, which ended in deadlock just a few weeks ahead of COP28.

Nothing has yet been decided on how the new fund - due to be launched at the climate summit in Dubai, starting on Nov. 30 - will operate and where it will get its money from. The main row dividing last week’s "transitional committee" meeting in Egypt was over where to house the fund.

Rich nations, led by the United States, are pushing for its home to be the World Bank, but climate-vulnerable poorer countries are appalled by this proposal, which they see as a red line. They argue the bank is tilted in favour of donors and its rules could stop them from directly accessing the fund's coffers.

After running into the early hours on Saturday, the meeting failed to agree [[link removed]] on recommendations for the fund, which governments need to finalise at COP28 – and the task has now been punted to a hastily arranged extra session in early November.

"The eyes of the world are on you to deliver clear, clean and strong recommendations ahead of COP28 to operationalize the Loss & Damage Fund (and) funding arrangements," the UAE's COP28 chief Sultan al-Jaber told the committee, as policy experts warned of the consequences of any delay for COP28.

A flood victim stands in his damaged house, following rains and floods during the monsoon season, in Nowshera, Pakistan August 31, 2022. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz

If compromises are found and a fledgling fund does emerge from Dubai, there will still be thorny issues to iron out - such as if and how the fund should finance measures ahead of forecast floods or powerful storms, to help reduce losses instead of just repairing the damage afterwards.

We report on how more than 150,000 Bangladeshis are covered by this pre-disaster support [[link removed]] - known as "anticipatory action" - through which aid agencies provide vulnerable people with cash and other essential items before climate-related shocks hit.

"The poor households can save small things like cooking pots, or a goat, which make a lot of difference for them," said a World Food Programme resilience officer. But, as with many things that help people dodge disasters, backers say there's just not enough funding available to roll them out on the scale needed as the planet warms.

Fossil fuel and health dilemma

Another issue that will be high on the agenda at COP28 is health, which will have its own themed day for the first time at a COP and a ministerial dialogue where governments can make commitments and sign up to a declaration pledging to cut emissions from the medical sector and equip health services to cope on a hotter planet.

But health and climate advocates aren't happy that the first draft of the declaration left out [[link removed]] the politically sensitive issue of air pollution - mostly caused by the burning of fossil fuels - which is responsible for more than 6.5 million deaths a year globally.

A new scorecard released last week by the Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA), also found that only 51 of 170 national climate action plans (NDCs) it analysed - or fewer than a third - referred to the health impacts of air pollution.

"Omitting air pollution considerations from NDCs is a missed opportunity for the planet, for people and for economies," said Jessica Beagley, GCHA's policy lead.

Artist Ata Mojlish and activists protest against LNG projects in Bangladesh before the office of T. Row Price at New York, September 19, 2023. Sawyer Roque for Market Forces/Handout via Thomson Reuters Foundation

Painting a greener future

Real-world action is lagging behind on climate change, not least because many people still see it as a technical topic that is hard to engage with, despite almost daily evidence of its consequences around the world.

Artists are one group who can help change that, including in the Global South, writes [[link removed]] our correspondent Md. Tahmid Zami, as their work can touch emotions in ways that scientific papers don't and can even help diminish political divides. Some are teaming up with activists and scientists to give their creativity a sharper edge.

"As I open the door to the public and create a platform, it can create unexpected impacts," said Blane De St. Croix, an American sculptor and installation artist, whose latest climate-themed show happens to be in Abu Dhabi, a shortish hop from the COP28 host city Dubai.

Do let us know about any great climate-art exhibitions you visit!

Megan

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[[link removed]]Discover more Nature [[link removed]] Climate Risks [[link removed]] Net Zero [[link removed]] Just Transition [[link removed]] Climate Justice [[link removed]] Green Cities [[link removed]] Thank you for reading!

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