The past eight years were on track to be the warmest on record, the World Meteorological Organisation said in its latest report, in a planetary “distress signal”, as leaders began to gather for the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.
The findings were published during the opening session in Sharm el-Sheikh, where the contentious issue of “loss and damage” was put on the formal agenda for the first time.
“Loss and damage” has become the shorthand for the call for funding by wealthy countries for poor countries suffering the consequences of climate change. The matter has grown more urgent this year, marked by a succession of extreme weather events including widespread flooding in Pakistan and Nigeria most recently.