After days of intense negotiations that stretched into the early morning on Sunday, countries at the UN COP27 climate summit in Egypt agreed to establish a compensation fund for developing nations suffering from climate change impacts.
The agreement serves as a victory for developing nations that have fought for decades for compensation for "loss and damage" from extreme weather events said to be the result of greenhouse emissions from wealthy countries.
This is a landmark deal. The "loss and damage" fund aims at helping countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. For the first time, COP has listened to the voices of those on the frontline of the climate crisis. It's not enough, but it will help lead the way for the future and take the necessary first steps toward justice.
COP27 failed. Shortsighted political leaders and a sense of apathy have delayed necessary action toward the most ambitious goals set in the Paris Agreement. It's now inevitable the world will surpass what scientists consider a safe warming threshold. Because of the failure in Sharm el-Sheikh, the only questions now are how much the Earth will warm and how many people will suffer.