The end of the first week of the annual climate negotiations nearly always produces a feeling of malaise and pessimism. And sure enough, as we conclude the first week of #COP28 in Dubai, the progress in the global climate negotiations seems too slow, the outcomes too uncertain, and the whole scene to be strangely divorced from reality (or perhaps a true reflection of the actual political pressures on the process). The main concrete progress in the first week, on the first day, was on operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund, with some initial pledges made by Europe ($250 million +), the United States ($17.5 million), and a few other countries. The US also made a pledge to the Green Climate Fund of $3 billion (with no clarity how it will pay for it given Congressional opposition).
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