Expanding the Finance Base: The Urgent Case for Scaling Up Loss and Damage Finance

change are imposing increasingly severe human and economic costs. The countries around the world in vulnerable communities, a single extreme event can destroy homes and livelihoods, displace families and strain already limited public resources. It can undo years of development in a matter of hours. The latest United Nations assessment is sobering. Under current policies and near-term trajectories, an overshoot of one and a half degrees Celsius is now widely assessed as unavoidable. This is not simply a number.

Good morning. If I may ask you just take your seat, then we'll get started. Thank you. So a very good morning to all of you. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Much better. I know this is last day for UNGA, but we can send and say good morning back. So my name is Ibrahima Cheikh Diongue. I am the executive director of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. I am delighted to be moderating this session, which we expect to be lively, interactive, but more importantly, an opportunity to take stock of where we are. And welcome you all to this conversation about scaling up finance to loss and damage. an extremely important topic, but we managed to gather around this table all the different stakeholders that are involved in the conversation, and that's why we're delighted that you were able to make it. A year ago, we met on the margin of UNGA and have a similar conversation. Fast forward a year later, so much have happened, and that's why it's really important to have this conversation. Number one, what happened is extreme weather conditions and not getting better, they're getting worse, with a sense of urgency, but more importantly, with the human losses and damages that we know, which I think all of us, as we follow the events around the world, we've seen the impact it has in the lives of many people. Second, since our last meeting, we launched a call for funding requests. It was 176 requests from 119 countries, $2.8 billion. So I'll let you do the math in terms of the sense of urgency, but more importantly, the demand is strong across the developing world. A year ago, we pushed to convert the pledges from different contributors. As we stand today, it has reached half a billion dollars, but obviously, it's still below where we want to be in that level of capitalization. And a year ago, as of today, so many leaders from developing countries have been making the case why this fund need to be highly capitalized so we can meet the demand. Last but not least, we made some progress in operationalizing the secretary, which are running, working with the board, allowing us to deliver to the countries that expect so much from this fund. And you've been around for the whole week. You've heard many countries, particularly from vulnerable countries, making the case about why this fund is really important. And that's why we're delighted to be here and appreciate all of you to be here. joining us using our convening power to have the right conversation, loss and damage. So our conversation is broken into four parts. We'll get the co-chair of our board to welcome you and to this event. But also we are co-organizing this event with the government of Philippine. We're delighted to have the minister next to me. I will say a few words on behalf of the government of Philippine. particularly at the time when his president has officially decided to champion this fund. We're delighted to have you here, Honourable Minister. The second part of our conversation will get a bit of a high level segment where we try to get different stakeholders from the contributors to the beneficiary, just to make the case again why scaling up climate finance for loss and damage is important. And then last but not least, I know around the table we got different stakeholders being different perspective. We'll try the best that we can to make sure each of you has the opportunity to speak. I've been instructed by my team that that would be too nice on the time. We have limited to two minutes maximum to make sure that we can get all of you with the opportunity to have a conversation. We're delighted to have the COP21 both from Australia and Turkey to be in the room. As you may know, in about a few months, we're heading to Turkey and Australia. And it's really important to connect these conversations at least we can talk about access to finance and mobilizing resources. So without further ado, I am delighted to actually invite our co-chair representing the developed country, Georg Bostin, to say a few words to welcome you to this event. Thank you, Georg. The floor is yours.

Thank you, Ibrahima. Good morning, everyone. Let me just begin by extending my profound thanks on behalf of my culture, Camilla Minerva and I, to our co-host, the Government of the Philippines, for its outstanding leadership in supporting the Board of the Fund and for its partnership in organizing this critical high-level event. I also want to express my great deep gratitude to our Board members, partners and stakeholders for their tireless commitment to the fund and to each of you in this room for lending your time and expertise to this important dialogue today. Let me also just recognize Richard Sherman at my side here, one of our most dedicated board members, not only dedicated board members, but he's been one of those that have been working to establish the fund and also our first co-chair and he will be representing Camilla, my co-chair, at this meeting. She was not able to join us here in New York. I also see we have at least a couple of other alternate and board members in the room. Maheshwar Adao. I hope I haven't missed anyone. Thanks for joining us. As the newest operating entity under the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, we have a responsibility to work collaboratively to ensure the fund's long-term viability and success, to honour the voices of the global community that called for the establishment of the fund. Since the historic decision to establish the fund at COP27 and the landmark agreement to operationalize it at COP28, we have transitioned into our most critical phase to date, and that is to turn those commitments into fully functional operations. And to truly deliver on our mission, we must build an institution that inspires absolute confidence among contributors, recipients, and the broader international community. And this means building a strong governance system, implementing a transparent set of fiduciary standards, and also putting in place effective processes to ensure that resources are managed responsibly and reach those in need both effectively and efficiently to ensure maximum impact. To do this, we must continue to increase also the level of resources to match the fund's vision and mandate. And I think many of you will know that we have a highly oversubscribed first call for funding request under the pilot phase, the Barbados implementation modality. which was launched last year. And I think this provides a stark evidence of the immense demand for loss and damage funding and a glimpse at least into the scale of the challenge that we face today and in the future. The board is in the process and will consider these funding requests in the coming months and hopefully approve a first batch of requests at our next meeting taking place in mid-December. And as most of you in the room, I'm sure all of you will know, the board, the Fund has also received a request for support to Nepal after the terrible flash flood disaster. And the board is presently in the process of considering an appropriate response to that request. All this to say, these are some of the near-term challenges of the fund, but clearly in the long term, sufficiently capitalizing the fund is key to its survival, and there is a need to work collectively to scale up funds, including through a first replenishment, which the Board will consider its process also at our meeting in December. So just to conclude my opening remarks, we know that in this room we have knowledge and expertise to explore how the Fund's resources can be scaled up, and we very much look forward to hearing from you on this and, of course, on any other important matters. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Gyorgy, for those welcoming remarks. As indicated, Camilla could not make it, represented the Open Countries, but she made sure that she's represented in the room. And Richard, we're delighted to have you. If you can, well, say a few words to welcome to this meeting. Thank you, Richard.

Thank you, Ibrahima. Good morning, colleagues and distinguished delegates. Let me join Gyorgy in expressing our strong condolences to our colleagues from Nepal for the events that happened almost a month ago. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. But this is not an injury to Nepal. It's an injury to this international community. We need to respond and we must respond and we will respond to the events in Nepal because this is not a once off event. This is the catastrophic climate change that many people in this room have been working hard for the many for many, many decades to ensure that the international community's response is sufficient, it's adequate, and it's predictable. And so, when we were here, let me just also thank the Philippines for the second time that they're hosting this event with us. It's really important that this meeting takes place here on the sidelines of the General Assembly. It locates our struggle within the broader struggle for development and multilateralism that's taking place at this auspicious time. of matters. So, when we were here last year, we were able to brief colleagues on our progress towards the decision that the Board took to be innovative and not to be like a traditional international institution and to be different. This year, for the second time, we can say that we are a little bit closer to operationalizing that and turning that into effect. And the expectation, without setting one, is that we would start the first set of approvals in December this year. When we come to you next year for the third event, we'll be coming to you with a long-term vision and a request for that scaled up capital resources, because we know that without the vision and the long-term vision and the modalities to operationalize it, we can't for money but we will do that and that will be done hopefully mid-year next year and so when we come back to UNGA 82 they will come with a specific request to put more money into the fund that doesn't mean if you ask us if you give us money now that we're going to say no to it of course we always need money but we will have the vision embedded from our governing instrument into operational details that are ready to be rolled out and so again let me also thank the work that Ibrahim and the secretariat team have been doing to to build the operational system of the fund so that we can start to really be in a position to deliver for developing countries, because that, at the end of the day, is what is necessary. And we will demonstrate how we respond to Nepal. It may take us a little bit more time to get there, to get it right, to do it appropriately, to make sure that the response that we do is country driven, and it's something that Nepal wants and has asked for. It's just going to take us a little bit more time and effort, and I believe we're ready for the past. We're willing to do it and it can be done. So this event is an important juncture in that process to confirm the commitment by the international community and colleagues around the table, all the international institutions. I see my friend Carolina Fuentes from the Santiago Network here, which is also a key part of the critical architecture for loss and damage. So together, working together as institutions, we will fulfill the visions that we agreed to in Dubai around the Fund and its funding arrangements. And Nepal gives us the perfect opportunity to show how and to demonstrate our collective will to act and respond. And I'll leave it at that, Ibrahim. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Richard. Let me underscore, although this is not a fundraising event, but if you want to give us a check, we'll be happy to take it back to Washington to add to the needs we have to capitalize the Fund. But thank you very much for those words reminding us how important it is to capitalize the Fund. Now, what many of people I could not know, the host of our board is actually the Philippine, and the host of the secretaries of the World Bank in Washington, DC, where we sit. And we could not find a better host than the Philippine for having really fulfilled the responsibility as a host. It is my distinguished honor to invite the Secretary Juan Cornas of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to deliver his speech, but also deliver the message from the heads of state from the President of the Philippines. Over to you, Excellency.

Thank you very much, Edie. To the co-chairs of the board, Mr. Richard Sherman, who is co-chairing on behalf of Ms. Camila Minerva Rodriguez Tavares, and Mr. Georg Borsting, Executive Director of the Fund, Mr. Ibrahima Cheikh Dion. Excellencies, on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines, under the leadership of His Excellency President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., It is my privilege to welcome you. As proud host country of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, and serving as a dedicated FRLD champion, the Philippines stands ready to support the Board in advancing the Fund's mandate. For us, hosting the Board is more than a diplomatic responsibility. It is a moral commitment to serve those most affected by loss and damage by supporting the Board in leading the Fund as a global bridge between financial mobilization and the communities on the front lines of the climate crisis. In this 81st United Nations General Assembly, we will transition our global dialogue from mere diagnosis to the rapid, systematic scaling and mobilization of loss and damage finance. We will not debate the reality of climate disruption, but we will commit anew to establishing the delivery structures that will save lives and preserve cultures and restore human dignity. Our archipelagic geography renders us uniquely exposed, placing the Philippines first in the Global World Risk Index. With thousands of low-lying islands, our coastal communities face rising sea levels, ocean warming, and extreme storms that disrupt natural and social systems alike. This exposure to compound and cascading hazards is a lived daily precarity. In Nepal, severe glacier melt floods and catastrophic landslides have recently swept through entire mountain districts, cutting off isolated highland communities and permanently erasing rural livelihoods. Across Asia's mountain towns, shifting hydrological regimes are driving acute water security crisis. The IPCC's sixth assessment report warns that up to 3.6 billion people live in these climate-vulnerable hotspots. We are rapidly hitting hard adaptation limits. Traditional incremental adaptation is no longer sufficient. We must scale up transformational finance to address both economic shocks and the irreversible intangible losses that follow. The initial call for funding requests under the Barbados implementation modalities received over $2.8 billion in requests. While this overwhelming demand illustrates the readiness and desperate need of developing nations to recover, rebuild, and restore their communities, it represents only a tiny fraction of the true global scale of losses. To bridge this immense gap, we must expand the finance base beyond traditional donor structures and explore innovative, systematic solutions to mobilize additional resources for countries facing climate-related losses and damage. The true test of impact for the FRLD, however, is not just how much capital is mobilized, but how impactfully and rapidly assistance is delivered to the ground. The Philippines advocates exploring prearranged financing mechanisms that can provide governments with rapid access to resources following climate-related disasters without requiring lengthy budgetary processes or waiting for new funding pledges. This can help ensure that resources are available when and where they are most needed, enabling governments to respond quickly, recover, and rebuild. We also support establishing simplified direct access pipelines that allow local government units from low-lying Philippine municipalities to mountain communities in Nepal to directly access and bundle strategic resilience investments. We also push for capitalizing the fund to address the devastating, invisible spectrum of non-economic loss and damage, the irreversible loss of human life, psychosocial distress, and the destruction of cultural heritages. In our archipelagos and vulnerable mountain regions, climate hazards create profound, unquantified disruptions that tear the social fabric apart. Establishing a dedicated non-economic loss and damage window for intangible cultural heritage and learning recovery may be considered for FRLD support. Excellencies, a truly robust global loss and damage architecture must go beyond sovereign level risk structures. It must reach the individual human bodies that occupy the physical front lines of climate exposure. We must expand our definition of loss and damage finance to encompass ambitious climate responsive social protection systems. Loss and damage finance is not charity. It is the fundamental precondition for global climate equity and the preservation of shared global stability. Let us capitalize the fund with scale, unlock innovative, non-traditional finance flows, and deliver fast, simplified, and restorative assistance directly to those on the front lines of our changing world. As the host country of the FRLD board, the Philippines commits to being more than a venue. We commit to being a platform for innovation in risk transfer a fierce champion for community level response mechanisms, ensuring that when finance flows, it translates into timely action for resilience, rehabilitation, and preservation of our collective learning, culture, and heritage. The President of the Republic of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., can champion the Fund for responding to loss and damage by leveraging the country's strategic role as the host of the Board of the Fund to advocate for more resources expedited direct access financing for climate vulnerable developing countries. The president has driven national institutional readiness by enacting the law granting legal personality to the board, ratifying the host country agreement, and hosting the board meetings. Let us now hear a message from the president affirming the country's commitment to rally all nations to build the fund with urgency and heightened climate actions. Thank you.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, friends and partners, the worsening impacts of climate change are imposing increasingly severe human and economic costs on countries around the world. In vulnerable communities, a single extreme event can destroy homes and livelihoods, displace families, and strain already limited public resources. It can undo years of development in a matter of hours. The latest United Nations assessment assessment is sobering. Under current policies and near-term trajectories, an overshoot of 1.5 degrees Celsius is now widely assessed as unavoidable. This is not simply a number on a chart. Every fraction of a degree of additional warming brings greater risks to lives and livelihoods, more severe climate impacts, and greater losses for the countries and communities least able to bear them. For vulnerable developing countries, this means that the need for loss and damage support will continue to grow. We see this across regions, from the islands of the Pacific and the Caribbean, to communities across Africa and Southeast Asia, and now, with terrible force, in the Himalayas. Our thoughts today are with the people of Nepal. The devastating floods that struck Nepal show how suddenly a rapid-onset disaster can overwhelm communities. infrastructure and national capacity. Nepal, a least developed country, has now turned to the Fund for responding to loss and damage for urgent support. I hope that the Fund and its Board will act on Nepal's request with the urgency the circumstances demand. Nepal's request also raises a very practical question for all of us. Can the international community respond in time when a vulnerable country needs support the most? This is an important test for the Fund. The value of the Fund will ultimately be determined by whether it can translate decisions that we have taken internationally into timely, meaningful support for countries and communities on the ground. Nepal is not an isolated case. The first call for funding requests under the Barbados implementation modalities generated submissions exceeding $2.8 billion against an initial allocation of $250 million. The scale of demand is therefore far greater than the resources initially made available. This is an early but unmistakable indication of the financing challenge that is before us. The Fund must be equipped with resources commensurate with the mandate the international community has We therefore call on developed country parties to continue taking the lead in providing and mobilizing climate finance consistent with the obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, and to substantially increase support for responding to loss and damage. At the same time, the The scale of the challenge requires us to broaden the fund's financial base. We encourage other countries in a position to contribute, as well as philanthropies, charitable foundations, the private sector, and other partners to consider how they can help place the fund on a sustainable financial footing. Loss and damage is not only a climate issue for developing countries. It is also a development and fiscal challenge. When disaster strikes, Governments must redirect scarce public resources towards relief, recovery, and reconstruction, resources that would otherwise support schools, hospitals, infrastructure, livelihoods, and the long-term development of our peoples. A country should not have to choose between rebuilding what has been lost and continuing to invest in the future. This is why the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage must become a tangible expression of international solidarity, and solidarity ultimately is measured by our ability to deliver. I am proud to lend my voice to this effort. As we in Asia navigate our future together, we believe that resilience, too, must be built together through partnership, shared responsibility, and a multilateral system that responds when countries need it the most. The Philippines is proud to host the board of the Fund. We undertook this responsibility because we believe that the Fund can become an important and enduring pillar of international climate finance architecture. Our ambition for the fund is clear, that it be provided with sufficient and predictable resources, that countries can access these resources without unnecessary delay, that it can respond with agility to both rapid onset events and longer term loss and damage, and that it has a financial foundation necessary to sustain this work over time. The board must therefore keep moving decisively from the consideration and approval of funding requests under the Barbados implementation modalities to the development of a robust resource mobilization strategy that can sustain and expand the Fund's operations. The Philippines will continue to support the Board and the Secretariat in this work. I invite my fellow heads of state and government, both of developing and developed countries, to join me in championing the Fund and in building the political support and partnerships it needs to succeed. It took years of difficult negotiations for the international community to establish the Fund for Responding to Loss and damage. Let us now make sure that it works. Thank you and Mabuhay.

Thank you, Your Excellency. Three years ago in Dubai at COP28, it was a defining moment for this Fund because that's when the decision was made to move from the Transitional Committee work to operationalizing the Fund. One country actually stood out at that meeting, that's the UAE. I was delighted to have UAE in the room. Not only they were committed to operationalizing the fund, but more importantly, they also pledged about $100 million to the fund. This is an opportunity for me to thank some of our contributors who are in the room. I see some of them from Germany to France, but to Italy, but also those probably in the room that I probably forgot to mention, but we are delighted to actually get to 27 contributors 820 million dollars of voluntary contribution and half a billion dollars actually released so far. Of course, we're just starting. We have a long way to go. I am delighted to invite her excellency, Doctor Amna Aldawak Al Samsi, who is the minister of climate change, environment of UAE to deliver her message. Your excellency.

Thank you. Thank you, Ibrahim and Allow me to start by thanking the government of the Philippines and the Fund for responding to loss and damage for bringing us all here. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, the reality facing frontline communities demand an immediate and bold commitment. We must urgently scale up, expand, and accelerate loss and damage finance. The UAE has consistently demonstrated that ambitious framing must be backed by decisive and tangible action. At COP28, as His Excellency mentioned, the UAE committed in the first day and operationalize the fund with 100 million US dollars to jumpstart the fund for responding to loss and damage, setting a benchmark for global climate solidarity. Pledges to the fund now exceed, as has been mentioned, 820 million US dollars. That's with thanks to all the contributors. Simultaneously, we also launched the UAE in COP28, Alterra, a landmark $30 billion climate investment vehicle, which allocates $5 billion risk mitigation capital to incentivize investments flows into the global south. Scaling finance requires capital growth that matches the true scale of global need. We welcome the increase in allocation under Barbados implementation modalities from 250 million U.S. dollars to 342 million U.S. dollars and support its commitment to direct at least 50% of these resources to small island developing states and least developed countries. But volume alone isn't enough. We also need to expand this funding's reach. We must move quickly to translate pledges into flexible support. The UAE's ongoing stewardship reinforces that expanding the resources base, engaging private sector, philanthropies, and accelerating delivery pipelines are key to turning financial promises into lasting resilience. Through Ezayed Philanthropies, the UAE partnered with the Philippines on the 20 million US dollars Clean Rivers Initiative to restore Passage River. By tackling plastic pollution, reviving coastal ecosystems, and protecting over 20,000 local families, this project demonstrates how targeted philanthropic action expands the reach of climate finance directly into frontline communities. Finally, as we build momentum toward COP31, we must unite to scale up capital, broaden our reach, and deliver urgent protection for the world's most vulnerable populations. that has been suffering climate repercussions over the past decades, and we have seen that growing rapidly. I thank you again for convening us here today, and we thank all the contributors, and we look forward to engaging further in addressing climate finance in more practical and implementable actions. Thank you.

Again, this is an opportunity to thank all the contributors. Out of the 27, I believe 26 of them have signed the contribution agreement, and 25 are at least began to release some of the funding, showing the global solidarity behind the Fund. Now, if you watch four days ago at the tribune of the UN Secretary-General at the General Assembly, the Secretary-General has been extremely vocal about capitalizing the Fund and made the case time and time again. And that is the type of advocacy that we appreciate at the Fund. But we're delighted that his advisor on climate is here. And he has coined a phrase that we love at FRD, which is fund the fund. And I am delighted to invite Severin Hart, the Assistant Secretary General, Special Advisor to the US SG on Climate Action. Severin, the floor is yours.

So much, Ibrahima. And And good morning to you and to colleagues and to the co-chairs and our colleagues from the government of the Philippines. Ibrahim, as you mentioned in both his address to the General Assembly, in which the Secretary-General addressed the current geopolitical context and challenges that the world faces, as well as his speech to the General Assembly, to his climate summit, a few days ago, he did indeed make very strong references to the loss and damage fund. And ensuring that this fund is fit for what we're seeing and what we will see in the future is one of his priorities. So you can continue to count on the full and unconditional support of the Secretary General. It took us three decades, over three decades, to create this fund. It is not, it is now operational, sorry. I, and I hope that as we work to fine tune this fund, we don't allow perfection to be the enemy of the good. right? We will not. We're not perfect. No one is perfect, but we should not allow perfection to be the enemy of the good. What science is telling us is that we're entering a more dangerous period. Overshoot of the 1.5 degree goal is inevitable and a dangerous and strong, possibly the strongest El Nino, certainly in our lifetime, is knocking at the door. So the demand for the support of this fund will only increase, not only in the long term, but in the short term. And the devastating situation in Nepal is one example. So I really urge you, as you continue to work on this fund, ensure that speed, speed, speed, speed, and urgency is central to that work. As I said, we cannot allow perfection to be the enemy of the good. And the creation of this fund after three decades, it was a symbol of trust between developed and developing countries. And I'm not here to create a chasm between the North and the South, but the reality is that the window, that window to sustain that trust is closing. So we cannot continue to confront losses in the billions with a fund capitalized in the millions. And the reality is that when you look at how losses are protected in advanced economies versus developing countries, we have a serious, serious gulf. According to Swiss 40 to 60% of all losses from climate related hazards in advanced economies are protected. 40 to 60% of all losses are assured. In developing countries, only 10 to 20%. And it's worse in countries in the small island developing states and in African countries. So we have these injustices and a crisis getting worse and worse. So, yes, many of the elements that Richard and Georg and Ibrahim, great, you set these windows up, but if the fund is not funded, then that trust is eroded and it will not have the desired impact that I'm sure all of you wanted it to have when it was created. So my recommendation, yes, we need capitalization from traditional sources, But we also need resources from nontraditional sources. And as the Secretary-General also said in his speech to the General Assembly, you have a sector that is fueling the climate crisis, the fossil fuel sector, where the five largest Western fossil fuel companies, they've made half a trillion dollars since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Since in the second quarter of this year, these five companies made $48 billion, 60 times what was pledged to the loss and damage fund. If we are serious, if we are really serious, in addition to the traditional contribution, we need to look at ensuring polluters pay for the damage that they're causing. The fossil fuel industry must be held accountable for the damages that they are causing. So I hope that there is a coalition of countries willing to make a very strong case in support of the Secretary-General's call to operationalize the polluter pays principle. We must hold the fossil fuel industry to account. I thank you.

Thank you, Selwyn. And let me use the opportunity to recognize the Foreign Minister of Nepal, who will just join us. At some point, we'll give him the floor to update us on Nepal. Talking about pledges, this is certainly the perfect time to recognize Jim in his presence, the Director General of BMZ, Ms. Birgit Pichl. who I believe is in the room, Germany obviously has pledged $100 million to the fund and has released the entire $100 million. And that's certainly somebody deserves a big round of applause and their support. And that will help obviously our board to commit to the countries. And that's the kind of stories that obviously we appreciate at the fund. Now, let me now connect our conversation to the COP. For some of you, World COP30. That's where we launch a call for funding request, which we talked about in our introduction. And then that's why I'm delighted to have the Vice Minister for Climate of Brazil to be here to deliver the message for COP28. But before we get to COP28, the floor is yours. Muito obrigado.

Thank you, Executive Director, your excellencies. First of all, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to and express our solidarity to the families of the victims and also with the peoples and governments of Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. As we all can see, loss and damage is no longer a risk or something to be considered in the future. It is affecting our communities around the globe and also for us in Brazil, it's a very hard reality already. Loss and damage also calls for ethical reflection, especially when it affects developing countries, which as we all know, are those who historically contributed the least to the global GHG emissions on a per capita basis. It is clear that it's urgent to scale up finance to address loss and damage as the UN Secretary General stated last Tuesday in the General Assembly, developed countries must respect their commitments and make the loss and damage fund work at scale. It's never too much to remember that climate finance commitments undertaken by developed countries under the UNF to proceed in the Paris Agreement are binding on those sovereign states. regardless of the priorities of the incumbent governments. And as adequate finance requires not only scale, but quality, predictability, I would like to invite all developed countries that have announced contributions to the Fund to convert their pledges into signed contribution agreements, because Like other funds, this fund for responding for loss and damage is designed to enable rapid response to funding requests. Just a comment here, in Brazil, it takes some time to deliver money for the federal to local governments, six months, eight months. But when it comes to disasters, we manage to do that in like one, two days for first response. Then right after, for establishing basic public services, and then another phase for recovering the infrastructure. I know, we all know that international processes are much more complicated, and the Secretary is making an amazing job, but we must also be ambitious on the effectiveness of the response we need to make for the situation that we are living. So, looking beyond the BEM and recalling the Fund's governing instrument, Brazil stands ready to contribute to the Board's efforts to develop a long-term fundraising and resource mobilization strategy that would enable the Fund to receive a broader range of contributions or resources, including grants and other financial innovation, novelty resources, sorry. And we look forward to the approval of the BINs funding request next December at B10 in Manila. And we also expect to contribute for this essential instrument of the multilateral system to deliver and to move faster. Thank you very much.

From Brazil. Now, connecting this to COP 31, we had the privilege of attending the presentation of the COP 31 agenda, and I believe the focus was on implementation and delivery. So we could not think of a better term than where we are today on the fund. I'm delighted to invite Dr. Sally Box, the chief negotiator for COP 31 from Australia, to deliver a message before we move to Turkey.

There we go. All right, thanks very much. And thanks very much for the opportunity to be here. Australia has been really pleased to be on the journey with the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, having been a member of the transitional committee and also now represented on the board. So it's been really wonderful to see this fund being stood up and being so close to delivering funding to those who need it most. We've I've spent a lot of this week speaking about, you know, the 1.5 degree overshoot report from UNEP and what we need to do to minimise the extent and duration of overshoot. But even under the most ambitious emissions reduction pathways, we know we're going to continue to experience escalating climate impacts. And the recent flash floods in Nepal are really a stark reminder that climate related disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe and costly and And as Selwyn Hart said, we are facing a super El Nino, and so we can expect disasters to become, we expect that in our near future to increase. So I think, I mean, it really underscores the need to strengthen mitigation and adaptation efforts, but also really improve access to finance, including to support for loss and damage. I think the strong interest shown by vulnerable developing countries in the Barbados implementation modalities show that climate impacts are increasingly outpacing existing responses and resources, and that there is a really important role for the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage to play in helping communities to respond and recover. The international community has really invested significant effort in establishing the loss and damage architecture under the UNFCCC with the FRLD, the Santiago Network, and the WIM now in place. It's very much time to focus the shift from design to delivery. And so as COP presidency of negotiations, we really are working with Turkey to have 2026 be the year of accelerating implementation. I think implementation of the BIM really is an opportunity to learn, to demonstrate results and to inform future resource mobilization. As Gael said, it is highly oversubscribed. So this does present that opportunity to learn and to help shape confidence in the fund's ability to deliver meaningful assistance to countries facing escalating climate impacts. We know that responding to the recent flash floods in Nepal is front of mind for the board, and Australia is very supportive of a pragmatic outcome that really responds credibly to Nepal's circumstances while maintaining the fund's integrity and country-led approach and governance arrangements. To attract and accelerate contributions, the fund must demonstrate its value add alongside humanitarian financing and other climate funds, while progressing work on its long-term operating model. The FRLD must be equipped to respond to the full range of climate-related loss and damage stemming from both rapid onset and slow onset events. And ultimately, as many have said, we must urgently scale up contributions to the fund while ensuring it delivers meaningful support for the communities that need it most. might mention sort of one broad issue, which is an area that we've had a strong focus on as the COP31 presidency of negotiations, which is access to finance, which we've been working on with our Pacific partners, but for the benefit of SIDS and LDCs more broadly. And I know that the FRLD as a relatively new fund has made a lot of innovations in relation to access, including in the approaches to accreditation. So what we would like to do is look at how we can improve access across the financial architecture, encouraging funds and banks to work together to harmonise accreditation, application and reporting processes, to work together to enable more programmatic approaches. and to do things like expand the use of climate resilient debt clauses and the expanded use of guarantees. So we've been working with the Pacific on a statement and action plan on improving access to finance, which will be launched at pre-COP in Fiji and Tuvalu. But we're really looking for many to come on board with that as we move to COP31. I think there's lots of lessons to be learned from the FRLD, and there's lots of opportunity, I think, for the different funds to work together and with the banks to improve access finance. So I really encourage everybody to think about that as well. Thank you very much.

And thank you very much, Sally. Sally will be at the pre-COP in Fiji to tell the AFD story. Now let's just move to the partner of Australia on COP21, Turkey. Representative here to deliver a few messages. Go ahead.

Thank you. My name is Aishin Trupanje. I'm head of Department of Climate Negotiations on behalf of COP31 presidency. Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, friends, first of all, we would like to thank the government of Philippines and the Secretary of Funding for responding to loss and damage, bringing us together today. We also like to thank President Marcos for his leadership as an FRLD champion and for his strong support for the Fund. The message we want to convey today is very simple. Loss and damage is not waiting, neither can our response. We are no longer talking about a risk that we may face in the future. We are talking about the reality that is affecting people's lives, livelihoods, and the development gains countries have built over many years today. The year 2026 has shown us this once again across southern Africa. Floods and cyclones displaced communities from Mozambique to Madagascar, severely affecting homes, infrastructure, and essential services. And only a few weeks ago, we witnessed one of the most striking examples of this in Nepal. Our condolences, thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives and with all the communities affected. Disasters of this kind do not only destroy roads, bridges, or energy facilities. In an instant, they can take away a family's home, a community's source of livelihood, and sometimes decades of development gains. The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage was established precisely for this reason. In a short period of time, the Fund has made significant progress. It has established its institutional structure, developed its access modalities, and moved to the stage of assessing its first funding requests. The first call also made the scale of the need very clear, and very clear message from countries, the need is large, urgent, and real. Nepal's situation makes this gap particularly visible. But from this incident, impulse recovery and reconstruction needs are measured in billions of dollars. And of course, the loss of human life cannot be measured by any financial calculation. This contrast shows us the task ahead. The fund is beginning to respond, but the scale of finance must move closer to the scale of loss and damage that countries are facing. This is why we need to expand the fund's financing base. We must rapidly convert existing pledges into actual contributions and diversify the resource base. Alongside public resources, we must also make innovative sources of finance, the private sector, philanthropic organizations, and foundations a stronger part of this effort. But more finance alone is not enough. When the needs arise, that finance must also be accessible. After a disaster, Turkey experienced many of them, countries do not have time to wade through long and complex processes. Access must be faster, simpler, and more direct. We must strengthen the capacity of national institutions and ensure that finance reaches the communities most affected. The success of the fund will be measured not only by the decisions it takes, but how quickly support reaches people and what difference it makes in their lives. We have also another important milestone ahead of us. Funds, our first replenishment process will begin in 2027, and Richard already mentioned that. This process must be ambitious. The kind of fund we'll have in 2027 will be determined by the decisions we take today, the resources we mobilize today, and the political will we build today. This is why the period ahead is not only a period of preparation for replenishment, it's a period for building trust. We must demonstrate that the fund works, that it is accessible, and that it can deliver results when they are needed most. As the incoming COP31 presidency, we are also fully aware of this responsibility. Turkey, in close partnership with Australia, will work with all parties on the road to COP31. Our objective is clear. The fund must have the resources, predictability, and institutional support. It needs to deliver real results for vulnerable countries and communities. As we move from New York to Antalya, we would like to leave you with three simple messages. First, we must increase loss and damage finance, make it more predictable and broader the contributor base. Second, we must make access to this finance faster, simpler, and more direct. Third, we must use COP31 to lay strong foundations for the first replenishment beginning in 2027 and act from today. Because loss and damage is not waiting, neither should our response. Under COP31 Action Agenda, Sustainable Urban Resilience Financing Facility serves to accelerate resilience investments in low and middle income countries. Our Minister of Finance, Simrat Kaur, launched this facility yesterday, and we're looking forward to working with all of you. Antalya should not be a place where simply recognize the scale of the problem. It should be a place where we move from positions to solutions, where we turn finance into action, and action into real results in people's lives. We look forward to working with all of you on the road to Antalya, and thank you.

Thank you very much. Again, this is the time to express solidarity to the people and the government of Nepal, and we're delighted to have the foreign minister to deliver a message from Nepal. Foreign Minister, the floor is yours.

Co-chairs and members of the board, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I thank the Fund for responding to loss and damage and the host country, Philippines, for convening this timely, important discussion. My sincere thanks to right honorable, the President of Philippines and the colleagues in this room for your solidarity and for the leadership. On 26th August, just a month back, a catastrophic flash flood swept through Nepal's Botekoshi and Trisuli River Valley. As of now, more than 1,400 people have lost lives and 6,000 are still remain missing. This is something as a country we've never experienced, even though the standard word we use is flood, but what we know is when the glacier collapse happened, the waves were as high as half of this building, UN building, that came down at the speed of 180 kilometers. That created a force which created 5.2 Richter scale of earthquake. So this was not what we regularly understand as flood. This was perhaps more than what we have seen in coastal area as tsunami. So we've been calling this as Himalayan tsunami. And this catastrophe immediately within minutes. swept away our towns, families lost their loved ones, homes, and livelihoods. Roads, bridges, hydropower facilities, and other critical infrastructure were completely destroyed. Entire communities continue to face immense challenge of recovery. Nepal is deeply grateful for the solidarity extended to our people during this difficult time. We find strength in the support you have expressed. This catastrophe demonstrates how a shock originated in high mountains can rapidly cascade downstream, affecting communities, infrastructure, economies, and essential services far beyond the immediate disaster zone. Its cause requires careful scientific assessment, but human suffering cannot wait for science to complete its assessment. Nepal is mobilizing its national institution and resources. Yet no climate vulnerable country should be forced to choose between restoring essential services today and investing in the resilience for tomorrow. That is precisely why this fund was created. On 31st August, the government of Nepal formally requested the co-chairs and the board to consider an immediate and rapid response to this catastrophe. We trust the board will give this request its careful and timely consideration. is given the devastation and the challenges Nepal is experiencing, following the principal action consistent with the Fund's governing instrument. The Fund must be capable of reaching affected countries rapidly, directly, and effectively through accessible procedures and grant-based support that does not deepen the debt burdens of vulnerable countries. Nepal is prone to disasters. There was an earthquake in 2015, and then we all collectively faced through COVID pandemic as well. Between 2015 and 2025, Nepal's external debt has increased by over 80%. So we cannot keep on borrowing money to rebuild after its disasters. The strong demand under the BIM further demonstrates the urgent need to expand the fund's resource base. We therefore encourage contributors to make a strong commitment and support a predictable, adequate, and sustainable long-term resource mobilization strategy. Excellencies, our circumstances may differ, but our call is shared, turn solidarity into finance and turn commitment into action. The overshoot of 1.5 degrees centigrade is increasingly unavoidable, but urgent action can still limit its magnitude and duration and reduce irreversible loss and damage. At the same time, ensure that support reaches affected people when they need it the most. Let this gathering move us closer to a fund equal to purpose for which it was created. Thank you.

Again, Foreign Minister, do extend our solidarity and support to the people of Nepal after what you have just described. They have contributed up to $100 million to the fund, released half of that, and they've been playing a major role in the board and leadership. I am naming France And I am delighted to have his Excellency, Benoit Faraco, Ambassador of Climate Negotiation for France, to deliver a message from France. Ambassador, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Ibrahima. And those are the meeting when you never say, I'm happy to be here, to be honest. And it's very difficult for me and for France to intervene just after the very moving expression from the government of Nepal, and I want to recall our complete and profound solidarity as expressed by President Macron in a letter sent to the president of Nepal. I said in various meetings this week that the conversation on climate change needs to evolve quickly toward a more comprehensive approach on not only climate adaptation, resilience, but also loss and damages. We have seen Nepal, a lot of country are bracing for impact of the upcoming El Nino. Europe has faced severe forest fires and drought over the last summer, and it put us in a very, very difficult solution. This call to escalate our response to the impact of climate change is not a call to reduce our ambition for mitigation. We have discussed a lot about the overshoot. It's not just one other report. It's not, and that's why mitigation is definitely on the top of our priority for COP31. When your bathtub is leaking, the very first thing you do is to cut the water. And we need that. And we need a strong and solid signal in COP31 on mitigation. We need all major emitters to commit to, under the leadership of both presidents, to accelerate the implementation of their NDCs. And we also need those 40 countries who have not submitted their NDC ahead of COP31 to do so as quickly as possible. Otherwise, there will be other Nepal, there will be other catastrophe in the Pacific, there will be other catastrophe in all SIDS, LDC, but all across the planet. and our collective action on loss and damage will be irrelevant because we will not, we'll just be in a position not to afford to finance and to provide well-deserved support to those community. Sorry to be, to be longer on mitigation, but for, for us, it's a non-negotiable item. It's our solid commitment under the Paris Agreement. And I think this discussion we have on loss and damages is profoundly related to our capacity to avoid, to, to lose control on, on, on climate change. We need also collectively to use COP31 to accelerate disaster preparation and the deployment of early warning systems, because it significantly not only reduce the human cost of disasters, but also because early warning system are one of the best way to reduce loss and damages. And we have seen in France, we are a country which is sometimes very affected by flood. and implementing an early warning system reduce the bill to be simple. It maintain also the capacity for our insurance system to continue to deal with those catastrophe. And I think it would be, I mean, it's for our perspective, unacceptable to see that we have on loss and damages, all the technologies on the table. We know how to do that, but we are not delivering. There is a And so when we call it in another event, half of seeds and LDC who have not even basic early warning system, meaning that they are not in a position also to do that basic job to avoid loss and damages. And I think that's something we need to change and to address at COP31. And this element brings financing in the game. As G7 presidency and a proud contributor to the loss and damage fund, France has worked on finance mobilization, not only for early warning system, but also for pre-arranged finance and other elements that can bring support to countries affected by loss and damage. And this community is mobilized, and we know for sure that the UK, I don't know if they have a representative in the room, but I really commit also to use G20 next year to continue to work on this topic. And I think it's very important also to connect not only COP31 as a replenishment of the the loss and damage fund, but also G20 to mobilize as many actors as possible. On resource mobilization, it's also super important that all major emitters contribute to climate finance in general and in particular for loss and damages. And we command all those non-traditional donors who have already committed. It's a very important news and from a very European perspective. We represent something like 6% to 8% of world emission, and we are the continent where emission are decreasing the fastest. And we are the most important contributor to climate finance in general, but also to the loss and damage fund. And if we want to address this collective problem, we need to find a collective solution. And all major emitters with historical responsibility should be in a position to contribute to support the loss and damage fund. And third, I would also recognize thanks to your tremendous work, Ibrahim, but also your team and the board and all of those who have started this conversation only three years ago, that you also supported very interesting dynamics in a lot of affected countries by strengthening institutional arrangement to address loss and damage, creating sometimes domestic funds also to address loss and damages, and I think that this dynamics that can be supported by not only the Loss and Damage Fund, but also the Climate Finance Constitution is super useful. It's super useful because it helps us collectively to bring the money back to the community and to create an institutional framework for a decade that unfortunately will be a decade of adaptation to tremendous climate impact. I thank you so much, Ibrahima. And France is ready to continue to work with the Loss and Damage Fund to demonstrate, but and to reach also the population because they need it, definitely. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much, Ambassador. I will, this is obviously time for me also to recognize the President of Denmark who contributed to the fund, but has released the contribution to the fund. So Denmark is in the back. I just wanted to recognize them. I'm going to bring in a few ministers because the loss and damage fund believe in country-owned, country-led. It's all about hearing from those who are trying to support. We're delighted to have the Minister of Environment from Senegal. Mr. Diouf, the floor is yours. For the record, I am from Senegal, but no privilege given there to my minister. But go ahead, underminister.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, everyone. First of all, I wanted to thank the FRLD and the government of Philippines for convening this important session on lessen damage. And I want to just to say, Your Excellency, Minister for Environment of the Philippines, distinguished ministers.

Well, Minister, can we just get the microphone closer so we can hear the wonderful stuff you're saying? Thank you.

OK. So distinguished ministers and head of delegations, Mr. Executive Director of the FRLD, distinguished guests, Senegal, like other countries, welcomes the efforts to operationalize the Loss and Damage Fund since it its establishment at COP28 in Dubai and welcomes the deployment of a first phase of project under the FLD through the Barbados implementation modalities, despite limited financial resources. It is clear that with the intensification of climate phenomena and the limits of adaptation, particularly in the face of climate extremes, events, and adaptation finance gap, Support for vulnerable countries in terms of loss and damage is becoming imperative. Recent events associated with El Nino phenomenon further heighten the urgency of supporting climate victims who are often far from being the cause of climate change. The case of Nepal saddens all of us, and the speed of the response is too slow. We need to put in place rapid intervention procedures, and we hope that the FLD Secretariat and its Board of Directors, with the support of the World Bank, trustee of this fund, will take appropriate measures to limit disproportionate bureaucracy in the face of the urgency. Also, given the level of financing available and the strong demand from countries under the BIM, with more than 160 project proposal received. A first replenishment of the fund is necessary as early as 2027. COP 31 should adopt this approach in order to define the FRLD resource mobilization strategy and also consider how to meet the immediate financing need for the BIM in order to respond to the expectation of the most vulnerable country, particularly the LDCs, island states, and Africa countries. Different options have been proposed to mobilize resources for the Loss and Damage Fund. They will need to be examined and their applicability assessed. This is a matter of climate justice, respect for human rights and human dignity. And we insist that attention be given to grants and highly concessional instruments, which are fundamental for our vulnerable country. Thank you very much.

Speaking of the pipeline, or the BIM, we have in the room a partner who has been extremely critical and supportive of our work in the Caribbean. I am referring to President Daniel Best, the best name in the world, Daniel Best, that's his last name, believe it or not. He's the president of Caribbean Development Bank. Uh, Mr. Best, the floor is yours.

Thank you so much, Chair, Excellencies. Chair, SIDS, as we might have heard earlier, are disproportionately impacted by natural hazards when compared to other economies. And within the grouping of SIDS, Caribbean countries are seven times more likely to be impacted by a natural hazard than other parts of the world. The disaster damage as a ratio to GDP was 4. 5 times greater for small states than larger ones. And six times higher for Caribbean economies. Chair as climate related shocks therefore become more frequent and severe. And I want to pause and extend the strong solidarity thoughts and prayers to the people of the government and people of Nepal during this extremely tragic time for the country. But chair, the Caribbean has experienced five category five hurricanes over the last eight years as you would have heard me. You would have heard me say. And so the role, the FRLD is playing is increasingly more important. We as a development community, and if we can have an honest conversation this morning, we as a development community, we have lamented the multilateral funds in many ways, the speed, the access. The FRLD has demonstrated a strong commitment to responding to the needs of vulnerable countries. Its emphasis on grant-based financing is particularly valuable for countries of the Caribbean at this time with about half of the countries in the Caribbean experiencing adverse debt dynamics with debt to GDP ratios of over 60%. Therefore, the need for grant finances has never been greater in this increasing climate crisis. I also want to commend the FRLD for the responsiveness and the hands-on engagement. Just this week, I would spoken about the workshop which you chair would have held in Barbados which saw the number of proposals being prepared under the Barbados implementation modality increased from one to 16. Uh helping therefore to accelerate access to resources. I also want to commend the efforts of the FRLD in simplifying access. And adopting the cross accreditation arrangements with the Green Climate Fund. Reducing at the administrative burden on small island development states. So with that being said chair excellencies. As noted by the honorable Mia Moore Motley, Prime Minister of Barbados. The international community cannot expect multilateral institutions to deliver more ambitious results while failing to provide them with the financial resources and support required to fulfill these mandates. In my notes, I have a point to make that replenishment would send an important signal of solidarity and credibility to the global community. And I want to not say that. I want to retract it because I think it sounds exactly the way it is written here and the way I would have prepared it as a song by. And we say it all the time. We put things down as strong signals of trust and credibility. But behind these signals are real people. our real lives, our real communities, our livelihoods, our life chances that are being interrupted and forever changed because of loss and damage. Every dollar invested through this fund has the potential to reduce recovery costs, protect development gains, and strengthen resilience. Replenishment should therefore be viewed not only as a humanitarian imperative, but also as a prudent investment in long-term economic and social stability. We should not be in 2026 still discussing, be discussing replenishment as a signal, as some kind of moral imperative. Chair, These are actual lives, people who will not know the names of anyone in this room. Let us be clear about that. But whose very livelihoods are dependent on the decisions we make for their survival. And so I want to urge the members, the countries that have signed on to the fund for respond and damage, to honor the for loss and damage, to honor the their commitments because people's lives are counting on it. I thank you, Chair.

Thank you very much. Our next speaker is His Excellency Adar Babu Sore, who is a special envoy, ambassador at large for climate affairs in the government of Timor-Leste, but also a member of our board. Adar, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Ed, Excellencies, friends, and colleagues. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the least developed countries, LDCs. At the outset, allow me to express our sincere appreciation to the government and people of the Philippines for their generous hospitality and for hosting the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, in fact, hosting this event as well. We also thank the World Bank as the host and trustee of this fund. Thank you. And allow me also convey my deepest condolences and solidarities to the government and people of Nepal following the devastating floods and associated impacts that caused real loss and damage in terms of economic and non-economic loss, people's life and livelihood. Our thoughts are with the families and the communities affected, and we stand in solidarity with Nepal as it responds, recovers, and also rebuilds, because Nepal is also part of the least developed countries. Excellencies, friends, and colleagues. For the LDCs, loss and damage is not a future risk. It is a present reality, like one that's happening in Nepal. Our countries are experiencing increasingly severe floods, droughts, storms, heat waves, land degradation, and other climate-related impacts. These events take lives, destroy livelihoods and infrastructure, and reverse hard-won development gains. At the same time, limited fiscal space and debt vulnerabilities constrain our ability to respond and to recover as disasters. The financing gap is therefore urgent and profound for us. The resource currently available through the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage remain far below our needs. For LDCs, the message is very clear. We need new, additional, predictable, adequate, and grant-based financing for addressing real loss and damage affected by the impact of climate change without adding to unsustainable debt burden for our people. The first replenishment would be happening in 2027 must be ambitious and predictable, supported by quantified contributions and commensurate with the scale of the needs. We call on developed country parties to continue to take the lead in providing public finance, consistent with their responsibilities and also their solidarities under the Paris Agreement. Voluntary and innovative sources of finance can make an important contribution, but they must complement, not substitute, public and grant-based financing for LDCs. For LDCs, loss and damage finance is not simply a question of resources. It is about protecting lives, safeguarding development gains and preserving our ability to build resilient and sustainable economic and sustainable development. As we approach COP31, we must move from commitment to delivery. The fund must be adequately capitalized, accessible, responsive, and capable of delivering support where and when it is needed. the scale of the challenge demands ambition for us. The vulnerability of our people demands solidarity, and the reality on the ground demands our delivery. So we very much look forward to get more financial prizes at COP31, as well as contribution agreement will be signed quickly with the funding providers and the secretariat in our way that can address real loss and damage that we are facing at the moment quickly and responsive. And we very much look forward to get our development partners to see the solidarities and the sentiment that we are facing, especially related loss and damage disaster that are facing by the least developed countries. One of the them will be the disaster that that are happening in Nepal. So with that we very much look forward to see both the operationation of the Barbados implementation modalities as well as the funding outside of this BIM. Because We are only considering about the current BIM, it's more than, it's not enough for us, so we need to get more support for this. Once again, thank you very much, and back to you.

Thank you, Dao. So I'm always not doing a good job in time management, so hopefully the next speakers will keep it shorter so that we can get as many as possible. before you go to your next agenda. I am delighted before I call upon Germany to call also the honorable Claudia Barbero, Undersecretary of State for Environment and Energy Security for Germany, Italy. And then Germany will be next.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for the opportunity to take the floor. We extend our gratitude to the government of the Philippines for their steadfast commitment in hosting the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. Their leadership is a compelling example of a nation using its political capital to advocate for all countries in need of loss and damage support. We also commend the Secretariat for their invaluable support in facilitating board decisions and engaging an increasingly wider range of stakeholders. Italy recognizes the tragic consequences of climate change on global populations and economies, especially for the most vulnerable, including SIDS and LDCs. We stand in full solidarity with the people of Nepal following the recent devastating disasters and the tragic losses they have endured. Italy has mobilized alongside many other countries to provide immediate support to the affected populations. Looking at the immense scale of global needs, it is crucial that the fund increases its financial capacity. The first funding request window revealed a scale of demand that far exceeds our current financial availability. At the same time, the FANS interventions must remain complementary to and coherent with other domestic and international financial instruments. Between humanitarian aid and adaptation, there is a vast spectrum of action required to respond to climate-induced loss and damage. A key priority is encouraging increased contribution from all sources. All those in a position to contribute should step up for developing countries in need. We commend the donors who have already done so, and we urgently need to look for private sources, which can make a huge difference on the ground. Globally, there is sufficient capital to tackle the climate crisis. The challenge lies in redirecting it. While mitigation and adaptation remain essential priorities to minimize extreme events, support for loss and damage is increasingly vital. We must embrace innovation to overcome the limitations of relying solely on traditional financial instruments, which alone cannot meet the scale of demand. Recognizing the fundamental importance of this institution, Italy has proudly pledged to the fund and it's currently finalizing the transfer of our significant financial commitment in its entirety. As an active board member, Italy is fully committed to building a framework that ensures simple, effective access for all nations, especially the smallest, poorest, and most vulnerable ones. We stand ready to continue a constructive dialogue with all interested parties to better equip the fund and actively facilitate the participation of all funding sources and stakeholders with a view to an effective long-term strategy. Thank you.

Let me now invite Ms. Brigitte Pichel, Director General of BMZ, to deliver the message from Germany.

Thank you, Ed, and all excellencies present. It's a pleasure to be here. Let me also echo all colleagues and extend our sincere solidarity and with and condolences to Nepal. We all see that what has happened in Nepal is really, you know, a strong testament of the vulnerability of LDCs and also SIDS. And, you know, this happening just underlines how crucial support is in developing anticipatory approaches to responding to loss and damage. And this is exactly what the Fund is also looking at. Let me also echo France. and remind us that it's important to keep a laser sharp focus on mitigation, looking at the 1.5 overshoot report. I think we really need to look comprehensively at the climate agenda and action. So thank you for keeping that focus. We see the fund as a key instrument to assist countries in managing climate risks. And thank you, Ed, also for recognizing Germany's initial role in getting the fund going together with UAE. We've been trying to play our role here. I think it's a very good sign that the Fund managed to kickstart its pilot phase very quickly and is about to approve a first set of programs. At the same time, I think we have to think ahead and really work towards the full implementation of the long-term operational model and the strategy, as was initially pointed out by the co-chair as well, according to the governing instruments of the Fund. In doing so, I would like to remind us that the Fund is not operating in a vacuum. It is important to advance synergies and coherence of its work with the broader loss and damage landscape, including the Santiago Network, which has been mentioned here already, and also the Global Shield, to name just two, and of course, the coherence and working with the MDB system as well, which was already mentioned, so just to echo that. I think that coherence is really important in the end, and a strong prerequisite also for mobilizing that additional finance that has been mentioned around the table by so many colleagues already. We believe that only if the FRLD works in that complementary and coherent manner with other instruments, And within the support landscape, it will really have a convincing value proposition and be able to mobilize those necessary additional resources that we've all been talking about. So I think keeping that perspective is really, really important. We also would like to echo what has been said by many in the room. to really develop the fund and capitalize it more. We need to have all hands on deck. We need the traditional financing partners, and the EU contribution has been highlighted here, including Germany. But we also really need to be really creative around mobilizing the non-traditional partners, the philanthropies, the private sector, rightly so mentioned by the UN Assistant Secretary General, I think, and also innovative financial instruments like insurance schemes and prearranged financing, which was already mentioned earlier. All of that is important to really set up a strong, strong fund. Yeah, let me be short. We believe that a lot of good work has been done. It's quite exceptional how fast the move, the fund has been set up. We look forward to the first decisions being taken in December. We know it's completely oversubscribed, but we are also very much in favor of the way to find an approach in support of Nepal that is under discussion in the framework of the ongoing first call. And we believe that a good offer hopefully can be found in the end. So let me close with one word on beyond the FRLD, but maybe also picking up on France call on mitigation. The German cabinet this week passed the German transitioning out of fossil fuels roadmap. And I think that is good news. We need to be on track. on our side as well, in addition to playing our, and continue to play our constructive role in the international climate negotiations and funding. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Danke, as they say in Germany. So let me invite now Simon Baros, Special Assistant in the Office of Prime Minister for the Government of Bangladesh, to bring the perspective from a potential beneficiary country, Bangladesh, in the room. And again, this is probably where I have to jump in and say, let's just keep it short so we can get as many people and get out of here by 12:00 at the latest.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I thank the government of Philippines and the Fund for responding to loss and damage for organizing this timely discussion. For countries already absorbing the disproportionate burden of climate change impacts, an effective and adequate loss and damage fund is the only ray of hope. Bangladesh contributes less than 0.5% of global emissions, yet climate impacts approximately cost us around 1% to 2% of our GDP each year. Cyclones, floods, salinity, and river erosion continue to cause losses that even our best adaptation efforts cannot fully avert. Clearly, climate shocks should not push vulnerable countries deeper into debt. Ladies and gentlemen, Bangladesh has officially engaged with the Fund for responding to loss and damage by putting forward a community-focused proposal targeting flood-induced loss and damage in northern Bangladesh. The response to the first call for funding requests has further underscored the need to scale up the resources available to the Fund. A more predictable and sustained financing base is therefore essential if the Fund is to respond at the scale and speed required. Direct and simplified access to the Fund, rapid disbursement and small grant channels is crucial to transmit the resources to affected communities timely. Most importantly, the support must address both economic and non-economic losses. Public finance from developed countries must remain at its core, supported by regular and credible replenishment cycles and the timely conversion of existing pledges into paid-in contributions. At the same time, additional streams could be explored such as philanthropic resources and blended finance approaches, innovative solidarity mechanisms, including levies on carbon intensive activities and international transport. Importantly, these complementary sources should be in addition to the responsibilities of developed countries under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. On behalf of Bangladesh, I extend our deepest condolences and solidarity to Nepal for the tragic loss of life in the recent flash floods. This devastating tragedy, as mentioned by the Foreign Minister of Nepal, is yet another stark reminder that vulnerable nations urgently need a fully operationalized and adequately financed loss and damage fund to respond to climate disasters we did little to cause. Finally, I sincerely hope that the upcoming COP31 will provide another great opportunity to advance this agenda. I thank you, Chair.

Thank you very much.

I call upon the Director General of FAO, represented here by Kavit Zaidi, who is the Director of Climate of FAO, as the Director General has left the room. Kavit, those are your thoughts.

So much, Chair. Our Director General had quite a simple message he would like to convey to you, Chair, Ibrahima. To respond effectively to loss and damage, we need to invest in agri-food systems and all the stakeholders along the value chain, because losses and damage start in the fields, in failed crops, lost livestock, lost income, and lost livelihoods. Over the past decade, a quarter of disaster impacts have been absorbed by agri-food systems, rising to 80% when you talk about droughts, which we'll see more of this year as an El Nino year. In some parts of the world, land suitable for crop and livestock production will become unsuitable for agriculture by the middle of the century and beyond. And these losses are going to drive relocation, they're going to drive migration, and profound shifts in livelihoods of agricultural communities. But when farmers have access to multi-hazard early warning systems that we heard about today, they can act early before crises turn into losses. When they're able to adopt climate resilient practices from drought resistant crop varieties to improve soil management, losses and damages will be minimized. And when land is no longer fit for growing food, social protection measures give farmers a lifeline to transition to alternative livelihoods. when channeled to agricultural communities in the front lines, investments deliver benefits across sectors and well beyond the short term. And that's why the fund for responding to loss and damage is such an important instrument to realize these potentials. You know, at FAO, we have been supporting countries to access and to work with the Secretary of the Fund from the very start with strengthening methodologies that can help track a comprehensive picture of losses and damage, economic and non-economic. I think this provides governments with a much clearer sense of what has been lost, what is unfolding and what recovery will require. The vast majority of the countries that we've been supporting of course are SIDS, and LDCs, all with a focus of supporting communities on the front lines, often, once again, agricultural communities. We remain very much committed to sustaining the support to countries and to the fund for responding to loss and damage, and look forward to continuing working with you and all of the partners and countries around the table here today, Ibrahima. Thank you so much.

I'm usually a nice guy, but I was told we need to put a time of two minutes so we can stick to two minutes. So if you hear a buzzer after two minutes, that means time up and we can move on. So let me just invite then going back to the countries themselves and now inviting actually Zimbabwe to come in and give us a country perspective. We're delighted to be joined by Lovemore Doba, who is the Director of Climate Change in Zimbabwe.

Deepest condolences to our colleagues from Nepal and also the humanitarian community for the losses. Excellencies, dear colleagues, Zimbabwe welcomes this important dialogue on the urgent need to scale up finance for addressing loss and damage. For developing countries, climate change is no longer a distant risk. Increasing frequent and severe extreme weather events are turning climate impacts into recurring crises. reversing development gains, and also replacing growing pressure on already constrained national budgets. Zimbabwe has experienced this reality first hand. Cyclone Idai in 2019 demonstrated how rapidly a climate-related disaster can devastate communities, livelihoods, infrastructure, and essential services, while leaving recovery and reconstruction needs that persist for several years. The challenge extends beyond the immediate humanitarian impact. When disasters occur, governments are compelled to redirect scarce public resources towards emergency response, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. His Excellency from the Philippines has already indicated that these resources would otherwise support health, education, nutrition, social protection, infrastructure, and other development priorities. For many developing countries, loss and damage is increasingly becoming a development and fiscal challenge. It is against this background that Zimbabwe attaches great importance to the strategic positioning and scaling up of the fund for responding to loss and damage. The fund must be adequately resourced to respond to the scale and agents of the challenge confronting vulnerable developing countries. Most importantly, it must be accessible, It must be predictable. It must be timely and it must be responsive. I think.

By the way, when the light is flashing, that means the two minutes is up. Thank you. Are you done with your statement or you still want to say more? Okay.

So much, Mr. Chair. We must ensure that regions and countries facing climate impacts are not confronted with complex procedures, lengthy processes, and burdensome requirements at precisely the moment when support is most urgently needed. Access to the fund must be practical, straightforward, particularly for countries with limited institutional and financial capacity. Zimbabwe, therefore, calls for strengthened and expanded finance base for loss and damage supported by predictable and adequate resources. We must ensure that support for loss and damage does not become another source of debt for developing countries already facing significant financial resources. Excellencies, Zimbabwe moves towards taking up its Africa region non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2027-2028 term. We look at the Fund for responding to loss and damage as a critical instrument of international solidarity, peace and cohesion, and the practical means of supporting countries and communities grappling with the fallout of a warming planet. Let us, therefore, strengthen finance base, scale up the resources available for loss and damage, and ensure that the Fund is positioned to deliver timely and effective support to the countries and communities that actually need it most. I think Australia, the government of Australia, actually indicated that we need to move from positions to action, and this is where the answer lies. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Hopefully I'll do a better job in time management, but thank you. Last year when we had this event, we were told that we should like to hear the voice of the youth and the civil society. since we do pay attention to the feedback I'd like to invite Alab Mirasol Iroso the international spokesperson for youth advocate for climate action in Philippine deliver the perspective coming from the youth but also from the civil society

thank you good morning everybody my name is Alab I'm representing youth advocates for climate action Philippines And I'm also coming from the Igorot group Kankanae, whose lands are being mined for copper and gold. These are critical minerals. And our rivers are being blocked by mega dams. And we are the first to experience climate losses with landslides and floods because of those projects and activities. We are displaced and lives and livelihoods are lost. As the youth, as young people, we are hopeful for the loss and damage fund as a step forward for reparations. But we are also worried, worried that these fundings won't reach the communities. We have seen firsthand that the flood control scams in the Philippines has been disaster financing that has become an opportunity for corrupt and national and local officials to enrich themselves while our people drown. We have noted budget cuts across social services for the next year and seen that climate tagged funds are actually heavily allocated to gray infrastructure that is prone to corruption instead of nature-based solutions, which is why, aside from expanding the fund, what are the efforts to locally accelerate the loss and damage compensation that is accessible to communities and as not as loans nor short-term relief but actually considering the impacts locally on the ground and considering even the oncoming El Nino as young people we raise that there must be an integration of these localized needs and context into loss and damage relevant decision making and that these concerns lead to meaningful co-designing and co-implementation mechanisms that enable indigenous peoples and youth to shape the loss and damage responses beyond procedural consultation. Our lives and future are on the line. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And obviously in this conversation, all voices are welcome. Thanks for sharing your perspective. I'd like to now invite Lisa Doten from OCHA to bring, share your perspective. Lisa, the floor is yours. Good to see you again. Thank

you very much, Chair. And I'll try to help you with your time management by keeping my statement very short. The first is something we all know, that we must prepare for a future that is far more dangerous than we see it now. We're seeing sort of what is good now, unfortunately, and it can only, we see it deteriorating, unfortunately, as we heard and issue condolences to Nepal with the devastating inland tsunami, as the Foreign Minister had talked about. The second point is this is why it's so important that we work together to ensure the delivery of funding is fast and reaches the people that need it most. the humanitarian sector, we are ready and eager to participate in this, to play our role, especially with the FRLD, to identify ways to act very swiftly, for example, by developing triggers for funding to be released in anticipation of forecasted events. So since 2020, OCHA has been turning forecasts into action by identifying triggers to release funding and pre-agreeing the actions. The anticipated impacts of the current Super El Nino are a case in point. So the Central Emergency Response Fund, or the CERF, has an anticipatory action portfolio that's linked to El Nino-related risks and has grown to 13 frameworks across 12 countries, which represents $74 million prearranged already, so almost triple the five frameworks from the previous El Nino event, and then more than 50% additional funding. Just during this week, we've meeting here at UNGA, CERF has allocated a total of $14 million to three countries that are experiencing drought right now, Chad, Zimbabwe, and South Sudan. The third and final point is about innovation. And given the enormous gap between the needs and funding available, the FRLD and humanitarian funds will have to innovate to access new forms of financing and maximize the benefit of our scarce resources. These are not a panacea. Oh, I thought I was out of time. OK. Thank you. Very good. So I wanted to just mention quickly about the-- for example, OCHA's pioneering a new risk transfer solution using insurance and reinsurance markets to protect the CERF against extreme shocks. So as I was saying, the instruments are not a panacea, but when deployed strategically, they can help unlock additional financing capacity, reduce funding volatility, and mobilize new sources of capital for more predictable action before disaster strike. Thank you, Chair.

And Lisa, thank you for the non-help on the time management. But I appreciate your contribution. I'd like to bring in now UNDP, just to make statements on UNDP.

Thank you, Chair, Excellencies and distinguished guests. All protocols observed. On behalf of the United Nations Development Programme, I would like to thank the Government of Philippines and the Fund for responding to loss and damages for convening this critical discussion, not just only on loss and damages, but also on climate justice. I have just one point. Countries require financing instruments and access modalities that respond to their national priorities, as well as technical and institutional support to make them work effectively. Therefore, financing for critical institutions such as the FRLD needs to be significantly scaled up. At the request of governments, UNDP supported countries across all regions to prepare fund requests for BMI phase one, including support for direct access requests. UNDP will continue to support this at country level, helping governments assess needs, access finance, strengthen implementation, and coordinate investments across recovery and disaster risk reduction. I also want to take this opportunity to share our condolences with Government of Nepal, along with other UN agencies. We are working hand in hand with their response. Thank you. I saved you 30 seconds.

That is an excellent time management. Thank you, UNDP. I hope your benchmark will be set for the next speakers. I'd like to invite a speaker whom we made a mistake last year not inviting to the floor, and that is a former board member, Lillian Trageser, who is COP 30 chief negotiator. We're not going to make that mistake again, Lillian, this time. The floor is yours.

Thank you, Ibrahima, for giving me the floor.

I just want to share three very brief comments and thoughts with you. One, it's a perspective that we should also highlight is that this fund, the Fund for Responding for Loss and Damage, is a success story of the climate international regime. The establishment of the fund and the organization of the workings, the procedures, is coming into life in a very fast way, showing that we are learning from the operational of the other funds that we have. And this is being organized in a very, very fast way. So we should cherish that the climate regime is able to respond to the challenges that climate change poses to us in an evolving manner. The second is that it's very worried the facts that we are learning coming from the works of this funding. For example, the demands, the requests for funds that appeared recently in response to the first call, the total of $2.6 billion is eight times more what the fund has to spend with these countries. So it shows us that we might be going beyond adaptation, and we are entering the phase of loss and damage. So I will finalize saying that there are a lot of agenda items on climate finance open to discussion and to deliberations and that we should.

Thank you. Thank you, Lilian. Now there's another perspective worth obviously listening to, and that is the risk pool. They happen to be in the room. And that's a perspective obviously important as part of diversifying the financial instrument to respond to loss and damage. I'd like to invite Mr. Iolotu Palu, who's the CEO of the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company. And as you know, we are going to the Fiji for pre-COP, so it is timely to listen to that part of the world. Go ahead.

Thank you, Ed. Warm greetings from the Pro Pacific and thank you for the opportunity to speak. Allow me to offer three points. First, speed is everything. Finance that's arrived a year after a disaster does not rebuild a school before the next term begins. Loss and damage funds must move at the pace of need. Second, funds must be predictable. Our governments plan budgets years ahead. be resilient around finance that may or may not arrive. Third, funds must reach the front line directly. Mechanisms succeed when they are designed with governments, not simply for them. The fund has an opportunity to strengthen and scale the regional systems our countries already trust. Excellencies, Pacific Disaster Relief is a company standing ready to work with the fund. as your partner in the Pacific to expand the finance base in ways that are fast, predictable, and reach those who need it most. Let this fund be another current that binds us together in our shared responsibility, strengthening the collective resolve of our Pacific family as we confront the rising tide of climate risk. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And that is an excellent help to time management. Thank you very much. Let's stay in the risk pool. I'm going to also ask Isaac Anthony. Isaac, if you can just come in for a few minutes, I'm sure you can do better than two minutes, and then help us to hear your perspective.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The speakers have already underscored the urgent need for scaling up loss and damage finance. The Caribbean and Central America have had to deal with many disasters over the years. And you recall as recent as last year, we all witnessed the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa on Jamaica last year which erased 56% of the country's gross domestic product. Fortunately, Crif's payout of $92 million within a period of only 14 days helped to support the immediate recovery. But even when it has been a relatively quiet year in so far as hurricanes are concerned, countries in the Caribbean are struggling under the weight of El Nino, which is causing extreme heat and drought, directly impacting people and their livelihoods.

The reality is that the

protection gap in developing countries is still significant, with only about 10% or 15% of NatCat losses insured. And again, you would have heard of similar statistics this morning. Scaling up loss and damage financing is paramount with continued support of prearranged financial instruments such as the insurance product that CRIF provides. CRIF and other regional risk pools stand ready to work with the Fund for responding to loss and damage in its quest to scale up. In closing, Mr. Chair, let me take this opportunity to really thank the contributors to the Fund and for the support to date, and also to the FRLD for advancing the implementation of the pilot program and its program of engagement. I thank you.

Thank you very much. Let me now invite Danielle Cole, Director of the Women Partnership and Program Delivery at WAMO. Danielle.

Thank you very much. Countries need sustained weather, water, and climate observations, hazard monitoring, forecasting, and early warning capacities to anticipate and reduce loss and damage. Every country in the world has public national meteorological and hydrological services, and they're central to providing this information to enable a resilient country and communities.

So we very much

advocate that the fund should recognize weather, water, climate impact and loss and damage information systems as fundamental to investments for responding to loss and damage. And I'd like to thank those who have already mentioned the critical importance of early warning systems and anticipatory action, including France, Germany and FAO, as a key solution to responding to loss and damage.

I'd also like to reiterate

the comment from Australia that the fund really needs to look not just at sudden onset events, such as flood storms and heat extremes and what we saw in Nepal, but also longer-term slow-onset events, including sea level rise, salinization, drought, and desertification. If we only prioritize immediate shocks, we are risking adopting short-term horizons and pushing accumulating losses into the future. Finally, from a personal note, We have here a coalition of the willing, of people engaged in weather, water, and climate management and risk management, and yet we heard, I heard several scientific inaccuracies. So let's make sure we have the best evidence and use the best science to make sure that we invest in the right places. Thank you.

Unfortunately, we're running out of time, so we may have to wrap up from here before we lose the rest of the room for our closing remarks, but Obviously, I will not attempt to summarize what I heard. There's so many great ideas. But let me just underscore, I think, obviously, all of us express solidarity to the people of Nepal, which has been a consensus from the entire room that we're really with Nepal in this very difficult moment. I think, second, I heard from most of the comments about the sense of urgency. This is lives of people we're talking about. The human face of loss and damage is such that every time wasted is life lost, and it's really something I hope all of us would be inspired to go back and double our efforts. And I think third, delivery and delivery and delivery. At the end of the day, we can announce the billions of dollars, but if they're not accessible to those who need them, it defeats the purpose why these funds was created. So I think we, the Secretary, took that message loud and clear. Whatever we've done so far in strengthening our capabilities, it is important that we double up our efforts to keep up with the billions when they're managed, obviously, to be programmed appropriately. I'm not going to underscore the message of highly capitalizing this fund. I don't think I'm going to walk away with a check from this meeting. But again, it is talked about over and over again. Public money is getting difficult to mobilize. It is absolutely important that we diversify our source of funding and make sure the fund gets highly capitalized, coming from more predictable finance so we can at least program and support the countries. And I feel last, I want to say, connecting to obviously what's been said about the couple that's coming up. COP 30, that's where we launched a call for funding requests. COP 31 is the COP of delivery and implementation. So we hope that loss and damage, and I'm very reassured it's not lost in the conversation, so that we can go to COP 30, just make the case, we need to double up our funding so we can support. I wanted to use, again, on behalf of the Secretariat of the Fund, but also the government of Philippines, I'm sure he will thank you as well. We are delighted to come back in the second year and have this event. I hope for next year we'll come back and provide some update. We'll get our funding, the impact we're having, because the real story to tell, it's not how much money we have, it's how much money we get to where it's needed, and that's what this fund is all about. So on that note, let me invite our co-chair, Gyorgy, for his closing remark, and then I'll obviously invite Philippe to have the last word before we actually lose you. Thank you.

So thank you, Ibrahima, and thanks to all of you for your very rich discussion this morning. So I would also not dare to try to summarize the discussion, but I would like to say on behalf of the board that there is a collective commitment in the board to work to ensure that the fund delivers on the objectives and the expectations as set out in the decisions and in the governing instruments of the Fund. But of course, we can only do so within the always existing resources of the Fund. Listening to some of your comments also, I think it's also important to say that the Board and the Secretariat also works to ensure that the fund helps advance collaboration on climate-induced loss and damage, cooperation and coordination across other funding arrangements and with other foreign funding arrangements. Because I think we have to realize that a single fund working in isolation will never be able to deliver on the enormous needs related to loss and damage now and in the future. But we need to ensure that the fund is capitalized. And I think this discussion, part of that discussion, is also on expanding the finance base, as we have discussed today. So I really appreciate that discussion to that effect today, which needs to continue. And I would like to thank again the government of the Philippines for your leadership in championing this conversation. So, thank you very much.

And off to the Secretary for the final word. Thank you, Secretary.

Thank you very much, Ed. As we bring this conversation to a close, allow me to first thank our co-organizer, the fund for responding to loss and damage for this opportunity to bring together diverse voices and perspectives on an issue of such growing urgency. I also thank our distinguished speakers and all participants for the substance and openness of today's discussion. We have heard many important perspectives from governments, international institutions, civil society, philanthropy, and the private sector. While there may be different views on how we get there, there is a shared recognition that the Fund must be able to translate international solidarity into support that is timely, accessible, and meaningful. This is a responsibility before all of us. The Philippines will continue to work with the Board, the Secretaries, Parties, and all partners to help advance that objective. We have spent years building the Fund. We must now spend our collective effort making it deliver. Not simply to fulfill an institutional mandate, but to give meaning to the commitments that brought the fund into existence. I thank all of you for being part of this conversation and for the work you will continue beyond this room. Let us carry this momentum forward, not only in our negotiations and institutions, but in the support that reaches the countries and communities on the front lines of climate change. Thank you very much.

And bring us to the end of our high level side event. We want to thank you on behalf of the Secretariat. Thanks for coming. Thank you.