Kolkata, 100 km from the Sundarbans, demands loss and damage fund support in Dubai

Kolkata’s climate vulnerability came into focus alongside the demand for loss and damage funding for its climate-impacted urban poor during a meeting of south Asian cities held at the ongoing 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Experts present at the meeting said the demand was a first-of-sorts for a city on an international platform. It may be a precursor to similar demands from several other global cities, particularly those in Africa and south Asia. This may include those that have not only been impacted by continuing climate extremes but are also witnessing migration from nearby coastal areas themselves facing climatic impacts.

Kolkata, a city of nearly 4.5 million residents, has at least one-third of its populace living in slums or equivalent habitations, a significant proportion of whom have come from the Sundarbans and other nearby coastal cities that are extremely vulnerable to increasing climatic impacts. Moreover, many houses are quite old and can be severely affected in case of a major extreme weather event.

The event, Adaptation, loss and damage finance frameworks ensuring transformation of south Asian cities towards net zero, was convened by Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA). It is a platform of more than 250 green organisations across south Asia, along with few other organisations. 

‘Development deterrent’  

“Climate change impact is not only a physical threat or a major disaster issue. It is also a development deterrent. Already, our people are suffering. I am happy that the loss and damage fund has been operationalised in this COP and request you to see how the same can be facilitated for the cause of climate-impacted urban poor and other vulnerable populations in Kolkata,” said the metropolis’ mayor-in-council Debasish Kumar, who participated in the discussion at Dubai.

The loss and damage finance facility, a mechanism to support climate-affected populations, has been operationalised at COP28. It allows communities to seek fund support for damage inflicted on them due to climate change. Vulnerable countries, including India, can also seek such fund support. The World Bank will coordinate the funding for the first four years, which is expected to be functional by next year.

Several climate experts from Europe and Asia also joined the panel. This reporter spoke to a few experts on the sidelines. They pointed out that similar demands are likely to emanate from various cities in the Global South, especially south Asia.

“It is necessary to assess how climate risk to urban infrastructure and the massive losses associated with it can be addressed under these funds. Urban centres also have the agenda of migration of climate-displaced people,” observed Anumita Roychowdhury, an expert from Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment and a panellist at the session.

“Today, Kolkata is demanding. Tomorrow Dhaka, Karachi and Colombo may ask. That is because all these cities are affected by the dual problems of being impacted by high intensity extreme weather events and also by migrants coming to them, most of them poor,” said another expert.

“Countering climate change impacts on the city, particularly on its poor population living in slums and elsewhere, is a priority for me. We already have the component in our climate plan, the details of which are presently being worked out by an expert committee having domain experts from across India. We will also try to find out how finances can be generated to implement these plans, including loss and damage fund support,” said city mayor Firhad Hakim from Kolkata, who could not make it to the summit despite being invited.

Kumar added:

A UN report has mentioned that substantial green cover in Kolkata was lost in cyclones. It also notes that the city is most vulnerable to disaster-related mortality among eight global megacities. Kolkata is third among the 20 largest coastal flood-prone global cities. It is close to the Bay of Bengal which is steadily rising. It is also one of the fastest warming global cities … the list of examples is long.

“These are not mere statistics, but hard realities, which we have been regularly facing,” added the official. 

Experts support Kolkata’s demand

“We are already working with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on the agenda of cutting fossil fuels as well as the preparation of the Kolkata Climate Action Plan. We will be very happy to explore opportunities for accessing funds for the city from all possible sources,” said Sanjay Vashist, director of CANSA.

“Money is only one part of the story. The vulnerable community in Kolkata should be supported by appropriate case studies and technology to counter their climate-inflicted loss and damage,” said Harjeet Singh, a member of the UN transitional committee on climate change.

Nilanjan Ghosh, an economist and member of the committee preparing the Kolkata Climate Action Plan, reminded that “losses in the Sundarbans, hardly 100 km away from Kolkata, result in permanent losses in various supporting and provisioning services for the urban centre, and hence it should be a claimant for loss and damage finances”.