More than 140 U.S. environmental groups called on climate envoy John Kerry to support creating a financial entity to compensate countries harmed by the impacts of climate change. The letter — signed by a wide variety of groups from Bronx Climate Justice North, the Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP), and Womxn from the Mountain to the Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Greenpeace USA — is the latest illustration of the expanded role of “loss and damage” at the UN’s upcoming COP27 climate conference next month. Rich countries overwhelmingly responsible for climate change have historically refused to compensate vulnerable countries, but are under increasing pressure to do so. The U.S. rejected a proposal last year at COP26 because it did not specify if some countries could be held legally liable for damages caused by climate change, a U.S. official told Reuters. (Kerry letter: Reuters; EU pressure: EuroNews)
