reparations

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt—Countries meeting in Egypt clinched a deal early Sunday that could send billions of dollars from wealthy countries to help developing nations treat the symptoms of climate change. But the agreement’s final text also offered its tacit blessing to natural gas, a fossil fuel that’s worsening the underlying disease. That surprise last-minute addition dulled the sense of triumph for activists who had hailed the major achievement of this two-week U.N. climate summit—the first-ever global agreement…

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt—Delegates agreed in a late-night negotiating blitz to hold a formal discussion on compensation for irreparable climate damages, marking a first for the annual U.N. climate summit following decades in which rich nations blocked the topic from being tabled. The highly contested issue hinges on getting wealthy countries—who have contributed most of the emissions warming the planet—to provide money to poorer ones that most often bear the consequences in the form of extreme storms, heat, drought and…

In some circles, it’s known as climate reparations. In others, payments for “loss and damage.” Whatever the term, there are growing calls for a new process that would pay developing countries for damages they’ve suffered from climate change—a problem they did little to create. Wealthy nations such as the United States have opposed the idea for years. But its advocates have stayed persistent as climate impacts have grown more severe, and the topic is expected to be one of the main issues—and potentially the most…

Displaced people in floodwater after heavy monsoon rain at Usta Mohammad city, in the Jaffarabad district of Balochistan province, on Sept. 18, 2022. Thirty-three million people have been affected by the floods in Pakistan, which started with the arrival of the monsoon in late June.Fida Hussain | Afp | Getty ImagesCalls for climate reparations for poorer countries hit hard by climate change are growing louder after catastrophic floods in Pakistan. But though they may be ethical, they aren't the best solution to a complex…