An “historic pact” reached in the early hours of Sunday morning (20 November) at the Cop27 conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, means that for the first time in 30 years of climate talks, developed countries agreed to provide finance to help rescue and rebuild poorer countries stricken by climate-related disasters, known as a loss and damage fund.

Cop27 president Sameh Shoukry announced on social media: “History was made today at Cop27 in Sharm El-Sheikh as parties agreed to the establishment of a long-awaited loss and damage fund for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.”

However, critics said the deal was far from perfect, with several key elements flawed or lacking. Some countries said the commitments on limiting temperatures to 1.5C represented no progress on the Cop26 conference in Glasgow last year, and the language on phasing out fossil fuels was weak.