At the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, several European nations, including Ireland and Denmark, made modest pledges to fund “loss and damage” for poorer nations that are bearing the brunt of the climate disaster. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, endorsed the move to include loss and damage as part of global efforts to combat climate change. Notably silent on the issue was the United States. Harjeet Singh from the Climate Action Network said, “The U.S. has for decades acted in bad faith with regards to loss and damage, but the delays and deception have real life consequences. … The U.S. needs to change from being obstructive to constructive.” A new U.N.-backed report says the Global South needs at least $2 trillion a year to fight the climate crisis and that half of that should come from rich countries, investors and multilateral development banks.

Meanwhile, some island nations, which are among the most vulnerable to climate change, have proposed a windfall tax on oil companies. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called for a 10% tax on oil companies. Mottley spoke at COP27 on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley: “The wipeout events that are a risk for us as small states become a serious concern. We make the point all the time that large countries can be the subject of a climatic event and still survive. Small states do not have that luxury. And for many of us, the risk of a wipeout event is simply too great for us to carry.”