Question

To ask the President of COP26, what consideration he has made of calls from civil society and other stakeholders for a high level political focus on Loss and Damage through a (a) Loss and Damage Champion or (b) Ministerial pairing to ensure that work is urgently undertaken in order to deliver (i) concrete progress on Loss and Damage at COP26 and (ii) a clear pathway through to COP27.

We have heard and agree with calls from civil society for the need for a high level political focus on loss and damage at COP26 and in the run up to COP27. The UK is currently consulting Parties on the idea of a high level envoy for loss and damage.

We agree that a clear pathway is needed and intend to respond to parties’ and observers’ calls (including at the July ministerial) to step up efforts to address loss and damage, through locally-owned plans, institutional capacity, technical expertise and accessible finance. We will have a dedicated session at Pre-COP with Ministers designated to lead discussions. We also expect this to play a significant part in the discussions at COP26, subject to the agreement Parties reach on the agenda of the conference in the coming weeks.