NICOLA Sturgeon has welcomed the establishment of a loss and damage fund for developing nations in the draft text of the COP27 agreement.

The global climate conference was scheduled to come to an end on Friday. However, discussions are ongoing as campaigners warn that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees is in jeopardy if nations backtrack on promises made at last year’s conference in Glasgow.

There have been reports that the discussions have descended into chaos after an unpublished draft of the agreement peddled back on the requirement of nations to improve upon their commitments to cut greenhouse gases.

This commitment was included in the COP26 agreement in Glasgow.

However, the First Minister has focused on more positive news coming from Egypt.

A new draft text of the COP27 agreement has included the establishment of a loss and damage fund, which would provide poorer and more vulnerable nations with financial support in the wake of climate-related disasters.

This has been a key demand of campaigners from the global south, who say that compensation is necessary in order to deal with elements of the climate crisis that cannot be avoided by adaptation or mitigation.

Last year Scotland committed £2 million to a loss and damage fund – one of the few nations in the world to do so.

Then, during her trip to Egypt this year, Nicola Sturgeon pledged a further £5 million to the fund. She also attended a meeting with representatives from countries in the global south where she highlighted the urgency of loss and damage funding.  

Reacting to the news of the fund’s inclusion in the Cop27 draft agreement, the First Minister congratulated Saleemul Huq – the director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development – who has been a key proponent of loss and damage funding.

READ MORE: Scotland pledges extra £5m for countries hardest hit by climate change

She tweeted: “Congratulations to @SaleemulHuq and many others who have campaigned over decades for recognition of, and a dedicated fund to address the loss and damage already being suffered as a result of climate change.

“Work still to do but progress @COP27P is down to your tireless efforts.”

The EU committed to establishing the fund yesterday although some countries have bristled at their suggestion of who should and should not be eligible for pay-outs.

EU leaders want to limit recipients to those countries who are particularly economically and geographically vulnerable to climate-related disasters.

However, other states want it to include all developing nations – even those with enormous wealth, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

As the talks continue Egypt has also faced criticism for the way in which it has conducted negotiations.

It is reported that instead of sharing the draft text with all countries simultaneously individual states have been approached and taken into a room one-by-one.