COP28: Should a climate damage fund be provided to India and China?

China and India, the top two emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, are at odds over contributing to a fund aimed at tackling damage caused by climate change. While a report by the Vulnerable 20 Group showed that developing countries have lost $525 billion to climate change in the past two decades, China and India argue that they too have vulnerable communities that require financial support from the fund. The fund aims to provide assistance to poorer nations affected by climate-related disasters. Developed countries, including the US, believe China and India should both cut emissions and contribute to the fund. China and India, however, argue that their high emissions are recent and that they are still developing countries entitled to receive support from the fund. The decision made at the UN climate change conference in Dubai to start the fund's operation and the approval of recommendations have not resolved the tensions between developed and developing countries, particularly regarding funding sources. Developed countries claim that the classification of countries as developed or developing needs to be revised, while developing countries argue that developed nations have not fulfilled past promises of climate finance. As the debate continues, major developing countries like China and India are being called upon to engage with the fund due to their moral responsibility and economic status. The issues surrounding the loss and damage climate fund reflect a broader trust deficit and the failure of wealthy nations to deliver on previous climate finance pledges. Until these pledges are fulfilled, major developing nations may continue to resist contributing to the fund.