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A historic ‘Loss and Damages’ agreement has been signed at the COP27 summit to provide financial assistance to poorer countries affected by climate change.
The deal was signed after overnight talks at the climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
The agreement focuses on providing financing to countries that are most affected by climate change.
Earlier, the Egyptian leader of the COP27 summit had admitted that rich countries were dissatisfied with the deal. But he urged them to understand the situation and act accordingly.
Concerns remain over whether the conference will commit to a goal of limiting global average temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
A rise in temperatures of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels would push billions of people into the worst-case scenario of climate change, the UN said.
What is loss and damage?
The agreement focuses on loss and damage caused by climate change. What does that actually mean?
The agreement calls for rich countries to provide financial assistance to countries affected by climate change.
Rich countries have resisted the debate on funding for the past 30 years, fearing that rich countries play a major role in causing climate change and that they will have to provide funding for centuries.
image source, Getty Images
But recent floods in Pakistan, Nigeria and other parts of the world have become a deciding factor in signing the deal.
Also, the loss and damage caused by rising temperatures in Egypt brought the agreement onto the conference’s agenda.
What can you do to prevent climate change?
While global action is needed to stop climate change, there are a few things we can do as individuals. Let’s see some of them.
- Switch to environmentally friendly green energy sources.
- Cut down on junk food and red meat. Livestock accounts for 14 percent of global greenhouse gases.
- Make it a habit to travel less. Transportation accounts for a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions.
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Before buying any product you should consider whether it is energy efficient.
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