Recently, CJRF and the Scottish Government announced that their partnership to address loss and damage will continue with an additional £5 million in grants, technical assistance, and advocacy support for non-economic loss and damage. That’s more than $6 million using today’s currency standards.
This moment is significant. Since 2016, we have worked to put people, their rights, and their lived experience directly at the center of climate action. Almost a decade later, we still insist that to live out this mission CJRF must support those hit hardest by climate shocks and weather-related disasters.
Funds for non-economic loss and damage go beyond support for the financial burden of climate change. As CJRF Director Heather McGray recently wrote for IISD, “For every image of physical, tangible loss depicted in the media – the loss of income sources, homes, infrastructure – there are losses that are less visible or quantifiable, but no less real – the loss of family, community, physical and mental health and wellbeing, sacred sites, and culture.” We cannot put a price on this type of loss, but we can do our best to support the uneven consequences and experiences of climate change.
Two years ago, the Scottish Government became the first country in the global north to pledge financial support to address loss and damage. CJRF received £1 million at COP26 to focus on community-driven work in Bangladesh, Malawi, the Pacific, and elsewhere (check out our brief to review what we’ve learned so far). With the additional funds received this year, we can continue to contribute to the grassroots work being done in these areas and beyond.
We are grateful that the Scottish Government recognizes the need for this support. We hope that other private and public funders will consider investing in climate action in a way that centers the experiences of those most impacted by climate change. As First Minister Humza Yousaf said in his keynote speech while announcing the funding, “Scotland might be a small country, but I hope these actions will inspire others to join us in not only making pledges, but urgently mobilizing the finances that are needed on the ground today.”
You can read the full press announcement here.
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