The first startup phase of the Fund for Loss and Damage was officially announced today in Belem, marking a major milestone in operationalizing one of the most anticipated climate finance mechanisms. The Fund has now invited developing countries to submit proposals for support.
In Nepal, all accredited entities under the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Adaptation Fund (AF), and Green Climate Fund (GCF) are eligible to apply. According to Rajendra Prasad Mishra, secretary at the Ministry of Forests and Environment, efforts are underway to encourage both national and international organizations based in Nepal to apply and secure funding as soon as possible.
Among the eligible national entities are the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) and NIMB Bank. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a recognized regional entity, while international organizations such as the UN agencies, WWF, IUCN, ADB, and the World Bank can also apply.
Speaking at the event, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell expressed determination for COP30 to deliver another major step forward in global climate action. “Every year I’m asked how I feel about the COP. And the answer is that I am determined,” Stiell said. “We are not starting from nothing—the Paris Agreement is delivering real progress. For the first time, global emissions are bending downward.”
He highlighted that the latest Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) could reduce emissions by 12 percent by 2035, a development he described as “a big deal.” Stiell emphasized that every fraction of a degree avoided will save millions of lives and billions of dollars in climate damages.
He further noted that renewable energy has now overtaken fossil fuels in global investment and surpassed coal as the world’s leading energy source. “Policies once unthinkable are now rippling through markets, and change is becoming unstoppable,” he said, calling clean energy “the greatest economic opportunity of this century.”
However, Stiell warned that despite real progress, global heating is already inflicting devastating impacts worldwide—from typhoons in the Philippines to hurricanes in the Americas. He urged countries to “accelerate in the Amazon,” stressing that the COP process must remain focused on people and the tangible benefits of climate action. “We will only win the fight against the climate crisis if all people in all nations can get a fair piece of the epic benefits,” Stiell said. “Now it’s time to hit the accelerator—for people, prosperity, and the planet.”
Adaptation has grown more important as countries fail to rein in climate-warming emissions enough to prevent extreme warming linked to increasingly frequent weather disasters across the planet. A UN report last month said developing countries alone would need up to $310bn every year by 2035 to prepare.
Where that money will come from is unclear. Ten of the world’s development banks, under pressure to free more cash for climate action, said on Monday they would continue to support the need. “Lives, well-being and jobs cannot be sustained where homes, schools, farms and businesses are under threat from flooding, drought, or other climate extremes,” the banks said in a statement. Last year, they channeled more than $26bn to low- and middle-income economies for adaptation.
Also, in the latest development, Ethiopia said it would host the COP32 in 2027. The more immediate choice of host for next year’s COP31 remains unresolved. Both Australia and Turkey are vying for it.
