Foundation Urges UN To Allow Crisis-hit Communities Access To ‘Loss And Damage’ Fund

African Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development (AIFES) has called on the United Nations to make provisions allowing communities at the forefront of the climate crisis to have access to the ‘Loss and Damage’ fund to address the impact of climate change.

AIFES executive director, Legborsi Pyagbara, made the call yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, while speaking during a revalidation workshop on ‘Loss and Damage’.

The United Nations’ ‘Loss and Damage’ concept describes the harm caused by climate change that goes beyond what communities can adapt to or mitigate against.

Such harms include extreme weather events such as heat waves and drought, cyclones or typhoons, and slow-onset changes such as a rise in sea level, desertification, and glacial retreat.

The economic impacts of ‘Loss and Damage’ include loss of land, properties, and livelihoods as well as the financial burden of coping with disasters. The non-economic impacts are loss of cultures and traditional knowledge, deaths, displacement from ancestral homes, and deterioration of physical and mental health and well-being.

Pyagbara stated that although communities are directly impacted by the challenges of ‘Loss and Damage’, only the states have access to the funds.

He said, “Some years back, people started campaigning and demanding a special fund be established so that low-income countries facing the climate change challenge can access the funds. It was formally adopted at the last two climate change conferences.

“But the challenge is, how can these communities access the funds, because most of these funds are state-led. Only states can access it. The direct impact of ‘Loss and Damage’ is being suffered by communities.”

The AIFES boss stated that the organisation launched research findings in five communities in four local government areas in Rivers State to understand how communities are facing the impact of ‘Loss and Damage’.

He said, “To some extent, we wanted to know how communities are dealing with the impact of ‘Loss and Damage’. That was why, after several discussions globally, we made efforts to see how ‘Loss and Damage’ has affected communities in Rivers State. So, from there, you can see how communities are struggling with the challenges.”