EU on surprise climate disaster fund offer at COP27

(18 Nov 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sharm el-Sheikh – 18 November 2022
1. European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans speaking to media
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Frans Timmermans, EU climate chief:
“I have to say, this is our final offer. This is where the member states can find an agreement and I have to thank all of them for the courage to go this far. But this is it.”
3. Sign reading (English) “COP27 European Union side events”
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Frans Timmermans, EU climate chief:
“This is about not having a failure here. We cannot afford to have a failure. Now, if our steps forward are not reciprocated, then obviously there will be a failure. But I hope, I hope we can avoid that.”
5. Wide of EU pavilion
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Frans Timmermans, EU climate chief:
“The European Union has made huge steps forward and in any negotiation, if you make steps forward and the other side doesn’t budge, at some point it ends and this is an offer we put on the table, which I think is very far reaching, and I hope it is appreciated rightly on the other side of the argument.”
7. Sign on pavilion reading (English) “Act Now”
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Frans Timmermans, EU climate chief:
“I don’t know. I don’t know at this stage. Let’s see what happens today. I was encouraged by some of the reactions we got immediately from the floor last night. But, you know, to be fair to our partners, they hadn’t had the opportunity to read it in detail. So, we’ll see today how they will react.”
9. Sign on pavilion reading (English) “Act Now”
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Frans Timmermans, EU climate chief:
“We remain reluctant about a fund. You know, it’s not our idea to have a fund. It’s our proposal to find a compromise.”
11. Timmermans leaving
STORYLINE:
European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans said on Friday that a proposal made by the bloc on funding for loss and damage and mitigation is “a final offer.”
He said the plan seeks to “find a compromise” between nations as negotiators try to find a way forward at the UN climate talks in Egypt.
Timmermans made a surprise offer late on Thursday in Sharm el-Sheikh on tying compensation for climate disasters to tougher emissions cuts.
He said a fund for loss and damage for countries vulnerable to climate change needs to be part of a “package deal with serious, serious plans on mitigation.”
Timmermans said he was encouraged by immediate reaction to the proposal, with many nations responding positively to the offer.
But China and Saudi Arabia insisted that the 2015 Paris Agreement should not be changed and said money for a fund should come from developed nations.
AP video shot by Ahmed Hatem
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