World Bank says loss and damage fund could start in three months

The World Bank could have a fund to compensate vulnerable countries hit by extreme weather events up and running in as little as three months, according to a top executive.

The institution could be ready to dole out cash early next year, said Axel van Trotsenburg, senior managing director of the World Bank.

He noted that’s the same amount of time it took to set up the Pandemic Fund, which has a similar structure to the one that will be used for the climate loss and damage vehicle.

“I don’t see any reason why we could not proceed with the same kind of determination,” van Trotsenburg, said on Bloomberg Green’s Zero podcast at the COP28 summit in Dubai.

On Thursday, nearly 200 countries agreed on basic rules for how the loss and damage fund should be run, a crucial step forward after they first decided to create it at COP27 in Egypt.

Through the past year, climate diplomats have argued over issues such as who will contribute to the fund, who can withdraw from it, and on what conditions.

They also approved the World Bank as an interim host.

The final details of how exactly the fund will operate will be hammered out by the World Bank and the UNFCCC, the United Nations’ climate body.

The World Bank’s pandemic fund has received nearly $2 billion dollars from rich countries so far. It has given out $600 million since it was launched in November 2022, according to van Trotsenburg.