Scottish Prime Minister Sturgeon: We must pay for climate damage | newsletter

Glasgow (dpa-AFX) – Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called on industrialized countries to rethink the heated debate over money for climate damage that has already occurred. The Scottish National Party politician said Thursday in Glasgow that Scotland is the only country in the world that has so far promised to pay compensation for such climate damage, and announced that it would significantly increase the amounts promised so far. “Why are we doing this? To send a clear message to the officials at the negotiating table.” Rich countries must finally pay their debts to hard-hit countries. There is no longer any excuse not to do so.

During the negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Scotland does not sit independently at the table, but is represented as part of the United Kingdom by British negotiators. With money out of the state pot announced, Sturgeon wants to send an independent signal and set his own priorities.

Payouts for damages and losses already incurred as a result of climate change are a particularly controversial topic at the World Climate Conference. So far, industrialized nations, which are responsible for 80 percent of global warming emissions, have resisted pledging specific funds. The promise of $100 billion for climate protection and adaptation, which should flow into the global south each year, is also a controversial topic. Donor countries have admitted that they will reach this threshold for the first time only three years later than planned, in 2023. / swe/DP/zb