“The Fund Responding for Loss and Damage will be a key tool in helping nations to deal with the consequences of climate change,” said Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President-Designate, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources as he addressed the 3rd meeting of the Board of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage in Baku on Tuesday.

“Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization noted that African countries lost 5% of their GDP to climate change, and Small Island Developing States lose 2.1% of GDP to disasters on average,” Mukhtar Babayev noted.

He said that the COP29 Presidency had directly witnessed the pressures these communities face most recently during its trip to Tonga in the Pacific.

“At the last meeting of the Board we made important progress. In particular, the COP29 Presidency recognizes the Board’s work to agree on the hosts of the Fund and thank the Philippines for agreeing to play this important role,” the Azerbaijani Minister added.