A climate finance expert says it's only right that rich countries pay poor ones for the damage caused by more than a century of belching climate gases.
The statement comes as a two-week annual UN climate summit kicked off in Egypt overnight with the issue of 'loss and damage' climate finance finally making it onto the official agenda of the COP27 climate conference.
Wealthy nations including the US and countries in the EU have blocked it for years.
This is big news for the Blue Pacific, as it could mean seeing greater financial assistance in the face of climate adversity.
RNZ reporter, Hamish Cardwell, spoke with University of Otago, Director for Climate and Energy Finance Group, Ivan Diaz-Rainey, who says there would have been a lot of reluctance from developed countries to "loss and damage" because it opens up a whole load of potential liabilities for western governments that have been polluting since the start of the industrial revolution - in the case of Europe.
Photo: United Nations
