At the twenty-seventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in 2022, Parties agreed to establish a separate and dedicated fund for responding to loss and damage associated with the impacts of climate change, under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since then, the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) has made several initial advances, including the adoption of the Governing Instrument of the Fund, the selection of the Philippines as the host country of the Board, and the appointment of its Executive Director. Building on this foundation, the year 2025 now marks a critical phase towards the full operationalization of the FRLD in line with its intended purpose.
At its fourth Board meeting (B4), the Board of the FRLD agreed on the 2025 work plan, which focuses on setting up the institutional and operational framework for the FRLD. Drawing on lessons from existing multilateral funds, particularly those established under the UNFCCC, the issue of access to the FRLD is emerging as a key topic with various expectations, especially from developing countries. Therefore, designing how the FRLD fits with its purpose is crucial for developing countries.
Furthermore, for many climate-vulnerable countries and regions, loss and damage due to climate change is not only limited to economic or infrastructural concern, but also to cultural, ecological, and social systems. Organizations which work directly with decentralized and community-led initiatives across the Global South, highlight the importance of ensuring that the FRLD’s access modalities and priorities reflect this complexity. There is an urgent need to make space for locally grounded knowledge and systems that do not often fit properly within conventional development finance frameworks.
At its fifth Board Meeting (B5), the Board adopted the Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM), which include the allocation of USD 250 million for a pilot phase, enabling Parties to submit project proposals ranging from USD 5-20 million per project. However, the implementation of BIM requires adequate and timely financial resources, which currently remain insufficient compared to the pledges announced. Hence, delivering the pledges ahead of COP30 will be essential to fully operationalize the FRLD.
In addition, there are diverse perspectives on how the FRLD should operate. Many of the perspectives are rooted in the lived experiences of communities and may not yet be fully reflected in the official processes. These community-grounded perspectives shaped by realities of noneconomic loss, human mobility, and climate-linked livelihood disruption must be meaningfully acknowledged and integrated into the Fund’s institutional framing if it is to be truly equitable and responsive.
Recognizing these circumstances, the Indonesia Research Institute for Decarbonization (IRID), Germanwatch, the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), LAYA-INECC, Greenovation Hub, and SLYCAN Trust, co-organized a webinar session on the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) on 24 July 2025. The discussion was expected to bring understanding about the FRLD and its current progress, as well as to provide a space for knowledge sharing on key elements for FRLD to be fit for purpose and to ensure equitable and inclusive access to the Fund.
