Najam Interviewed on Potential Impact of COP27 Loss and Damages Fund
In an interview with The Express Tribune, Adil Najam, Dean Emeritus and Professor of International Relations and Earth and Environment at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, discussed the loss and damage fund agreed upon at the recent COP27 and whether this agreement will deliver a serious commitment from the world’s richest countries or be just another empty climate promise.
The article, titled “COP27: Climate Justice Landmark or Empty Promises,” outlines the agreement set out at COP27 as well as the skepticism that arose from climate experts following it’s announcement. Najam noted that a loss and damage fund has been a long-standing demand of the world’s most vulnerable countries. “Its eventual acceptance – even if only in principle – is an important step forward,” he argued. “However, one should be clear-eyed about this: at this point, there is no fund, and there is no money in such a fund.”
The loss and damages agreement comes after a year of devastating, climate change-related extreme weather events, including floods in Pakistan that left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses destroyed. While the agreement is a promising start, Najam argues that Pakistan in particular should not rely on the proposed funds and should “introspect and act on its own climate rhetoric.” While most Pakistanis have very little to do with causing climate change, Najam points out that the richest in the country contribute significant emissions, so the country needs to also look inward when making global calls for climate justice.
The full article can be read on the Express Tribune‘s website.
Adil Najam is a global public policy expert who served as the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and was the former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). His research focuses on issues of global public policy, especially those related to global climate change, South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human development. Read more about Najam on his faculty profile.