New Director Takes Helm at Climate Loss and Damage Fund

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change announced the appointment of Ibrahima Cheikh Diong as the first director of The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. This fund, created to aid countries hit by climate-driven disasters, marks a milestone for developing nations and aims to distribute the $800 million pledged during COP28.

The board of The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage to help countries ravaged by climate-driven disasters named Senegalese finance specialist Ibrahima Cheikh Diong as its first director, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change announced on Saturday. The selection of Diong, a dual U.S. citizen, marks a significant milestone in the operationalization of the new World Bank-administered fund, created in 2022 as a breakthrough for developing country negotiators at United Nations climate talks after years of resistance from wealthy nations.

With the Philippines recently chosen as the home of the fund and Diong appointed as director, the fund can now begin turning the $800 million pledged at last year's COP28 climate summit in Dubai into tangible funding for disbursement. According to the presidency of the next round of climate talks starting in November in Baku, Azerbaijan, known as COP29, the president will call on countries to contribute more money.

Loss and damage have long been a contentious issue at U.N. climate talks, with less-developed countries pushing for a fund that assists them in addressing catastrophic losses due to factors like rising seas and turbo-charged storms. Wealthier nations have expressed concern that such a fund could become a form of 'compensation' for the impact of their greenhouse gas emissions.

'The Fund for responding to Loss and Damage will make a significant difference to those disproportionately affected, and I take this responsibility with humility and a full commitment to serve,' said Diong in a statement.