富裕、污染严重的国家应该为617888九五至尊娱乐破坏付出代价.
The phrase “Loss and Damage” comes from the world of international climate negotiations. As early as 1991, representatives of the small island nation Vanuatu—home to over 300,000 people in the South Pacific—cited Loss and Damage at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). There, they proposed 发达国家帮助支付的经济负担 loss and damage suffered by the most vulnerable small island and low-lying developing countries… as a result of sea level rise.”
30多年后，联合国617888九五至尊娱乐变化框架公约的成员国 still 每年通过缔约方会议(COP)举行会议. 包括瓦努阿图在内的越来越多的国家组成了联盟 still asking for help with Loss and Damage—money to help them cope with the extreme impacts of climate change that are beyond their ability to adapt to.
And despite agreeing in principle 在2022年第27届联合国617888九五至尊娱乐变化大会上，应该设立一个损失和损害基金, 对617888九五至尊娱乐变化负有最大责任的国家, 包括美国在内, have still 在核心问题上没有达成一致:谁应该为它提供资金.
灭失和损坏包括什么?
By now, most people are familiar with the ways in which climate change disrupts our lives. Floods. Heatwaves. Wildfires. Damaging storms. 缓慢发生的灾难，比如海平面上升.
但617888九五至尊娱乐变化的后果对每个人的影响并不平等. 2022年，洪水淹没了巴基斯坦大约三分之一的土地， affecting more than 33 million people and costing over $30 billion in economic losses. 同年，索马里遭殃 widespread famine 经过连续四个雨季没能带来水. 瓦努阿图已经重新安置 six entire towns 由于不可逆转和加速的海平面上升.
这些和其他灾难性的影响是由 science to human-caused global warming, driven primarily by burning fossil fuels. And richer nations like the United States are responsible for a majority of the heat-trapping emissions to date.
In other words: Loss and Damage includes a lot because the climate crisis is bad. It’s exacerbating global inequalities and outpacing the ability of many communities and countries to react and adapt—especially where many people live in poverty. The damage is both economic，例如房屋、生计和基础设施的损失，以及 non-economic，例如生物多样性的丧失，生活方式的丧失，以及 cultural heritage.
Money from a fund for Loss and Damage might go toward efforts to rebuild communities and economies, 生态修复, or even relocation, 由于海平面上升，整个地区变得不适合居住, prolonged drought, 或者其他617888九五至尊娱乐影响.
对污染者问责
在《联合国617888九五至尊娱乐变化框架公约》框架下, the question of accountability for Loss and Damage revolves around the responsibilities of specific nations. 美国有责任 almost a quarter 温室气体排放加剧了617888九五至尊娱乐变化. 美国领导人早就知道这些排放的影响 decades, while repeatedly undermining efforts from the Global South to hold richer nations accountable.
In other words: our leaders are failing to live up to our international responsibilities to address climate change in a fair way.
Meanwhile, places like Vanuatu, Pakistan, Somalia, 以及其他几十个易受617888九五至尊娱乐影响的国家, 低收入国家正在抵御灾难 not of their making. 在一个极不公正的历史转折中, those with the least resources to adapt to climate change are being hit hardest by its consequences.
除了富裕国家，化石燃料公司 也要承担责任 for the climate crisis and the damages their products have wrought. After all, 全球变暖是由燃烧化石燃料引起的, and the companies who sell fossil fuels have known about the impacts of their products for a very long time. A growing tide of lawsuits 在美国和世界各地都有 growing body of scientific evidence—argue that those companies should now pay up, both for the damages 他们的产品所造成的后果，以及他们所扮演的角色 misleading 公众意识到全球变暖的危险.
灭失和损坏解决方案
经过多年的谈判, 以及美国和其他国家的阻挠, the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) finally agreed to establish a Loss and Damage fund for climate-vulnerable countries.
没有达成一致的是细节问题. 这些细节正在通过一个 过渡委员会 and efforts to clarify who must pay into the fund and who is eligible to receive funding are underway. The committee will be submitting its recommendations to countries ahead of COP28 in Dubai at the end of 2023, 目的是在那里设立损失和损害基金.
为了基金的成功, the United States, 以及世界上其他污染最严重的国家, 应该致力于延长, steady, and robust financing. 随着影响变得更加极端，该基金也应迅速扩大规模. And resources from the fund should become available as soon as possible, as people across the world call for justice in the face of a deeply inequitable global crisis already well underway.
The Union of Concerned Scientists has participated in every COP since the UNFCCC was first established. 世界各地的受害者团结一致, we strongly support a robustly funded and well-functioning Loss and Damage fund, financed by the United States and other wealthy polluting nations and delivering justice for those on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
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