Climate change causes billions of euros’ worth of damage. Often the costs have to be borne by countries that have scant resources in the first place. Sabine Minninger, a climate expert at the charity Brot für die Welt (Bread for the World), says that this problem, though it has been known about for decades, has not yet been the subject of serious negotiation at climate conferences. Minninger was a guest at a panel discussion hosted by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office ahead of the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference. It explored the extent to which the international community should assume responsibility for the consequences of extreme weather events. “Far too little has happened in this context in recent years. The Western industrialised countries in particular have blocked all initiatives in this direction,” says Minninger.
At the climate summit, Germany now wishes to send a clear signal of support for the most vulnerable countries and their needs. Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action at the Federal Foreign Office, will be chairing the negotiations on compensation for future weather disasters and is thus directly involved in the process. “A major challenge,” as she says herself. “Above all, it is a question of listening carefully and understanding the concerns of the countries.” She is optimistic nonetheless. “I sense a great willingness to find a solution together
https://www.deutschland.de/en/un-climate-change-conference-cop27-damage-caused-by-climate-change