Africa pushes for urgent overhaul of UN loss and damage mechanism

INFOGRAPHIC/EYEWITNESS MEDIA GROUP.

By PATRICK MAYOYO

newshub@eyewitness.africa

African climate stakeholders have called for urgent reforms to the UN’s Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), warning that current global responses to climate impacts are “grossly inadequate.”

Speaking at the 5th African Regional Conference on Loss and Damage in Lilongwe, Malawi, the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) said the FRLD must be fully capitalised, grant-based, and directly accessible to frontline communities. The group criticised reliance on debt-creating finance, bureaucracy, and slow delivery, urging the fund to operate with urgency and uphold principles of justice, equity, and historical responsibility.

“With less than USD 1 billion mobilised over four years against an estimated USD 400–800 billion annual need, this reflects a deficit in political will, not resources,” the communiqué stated.

Africa is facing disproportionate and escalating impacts from climate change, including extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and widespread loss and damage. The stakeholders highlighted that less than USD 1 billion has been mobilised over the past four years to address a continent-wide need estimated between USD 400 and 800 billion annually. They assert that this shortfall reflects not a lack of resources, but a deficit in political will.

“Current global responses remain grossly inadequate,” the briefing note said. “The scale of loss and damage being experienced in Africa is unprecedented, and yet the financial and operational mechanisms in place remain insufficiently agile, overly bureaucratic, and slow to respond.”

The African stakeholders emphasised that climate finance should not exacerbate existing fiscal crises. They noted that reliance on debt-creating instruments undermines national response and recovery capacity. Instead, they called for the FRLD to prioritise grant-based, sustainable, and predictable financing, ensuring that aid reaches those most affected without creating additional financial burdens.

One of the central themes of the briefing is that loss and damage funding must be framed as a matter of legal obligation, grounded in historical responsibility, rather than as humanitarian aid. The communiqué stressed that reparatory justice is central to the fund’s mission, and financing should reflect the principle that polluters must pay.

“The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage must be recognised as a justice-aligned mechanism, not a supplementary aid tool,” the stakeholders argued. “It is imperative that the fund delivers finance at scale, operates through accessible, community-centred modalities, and upholds principles of equity and historical responsibility.”

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance presented detailed guidance for reforming the FRLD, calling for immediate action by the fund’s Co-Chairs and Board.

The stakeholders also criticised the operational complexity of the FRLD and related frameworks, such as the Barbados Implementation Modalities, which they described as “too slow, too distant from affected communities, and insufficiently fit-for-purpose to address the urgency of the crisis.”

“Loss and damage is not a future risk; it is an escalating reality,” the communiqué warned. “Every delay in action is a missed opportunity to protect communities already facing unprecedented climate impacts.”

Ahead of COP32, Africa has called for a clear, ambitious roadmap for the FRLD, positioning it as a central pillar of global climate justice architecture. The stakeholders underscored the importance of linking the fund’s operationalisation to strategic climate negotiations to ensure that Africa’s needs and legal claims are not marginalised.

The briefing note made it clear that Africa’s expectations are non-negotiable: the FRLD must be transformed into a fully operational, justice-aligned, and community-centred mechanism capable of delivering at scale and at speed. Without decisive action, the continent’s most vulnerable populations will continue to bear the brunt of the climate crisis.

Experts attending the conference reiterated that Africa faces unique climate-related challenges that demand tailored responses. Extreme droughts, floods, and cyclones have already inflicted severe economic and social damage, disrupting livelihoods and exacerbating poverty. The stakeholders warned that without adequate loss and damage finance, the continent risks being trapped in cycles of crisis, debt, and inadequate recovery.

The call for reform has been framed not only as a moral imperative but also as a legal one. African representatives emphasised that historical responsibility obliges major emitters to finance loss and damage in an equitable, sustainable, and transparent manner. They argued that the failure to operationalise the FRLD effectively would represent a breach of these obligations and a missed opportunity to demonstrate genuine climate leadership.

Africa’s climate change stakeholders have made a forceful case for urgent reform of the FRLD. Their message to the Co-Chairs and Board is clear: the fund must be fully capitalised, rapidly operationalised, justice-aligned, and community-centred.

It must deliver finance directly to those most affected and ensure that governance structures reflect equity, inclusion, and historical responsibility. The continent is watching closely as global climate governance moves toward COP32, insisting that the FRLD become a credible, effective, and transformative instrument for addressing one of the most pressing dimensions of the climate crisis.

Africa’s stakeholders stressed that loss and damage funding is a legal obligation, not charity, and called for rapid, community-centred mechanisms to deliver aid to those most affected, particularly women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples. The reforms are being pushed ahead of COP32, with the continent demanding the FRLD become a central pillar of climate justice.