News and Events

Following the close of the 7th Board Meeting of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) in Manila, Philippines, Executive Director Ibrahima Cheikh Diong addresses the press on the Fund’s next steps after the adoption of the Barbados Implementation Modalities.

He highlights the Board’s decisions on the Funding Cycle, Access Modalities, and Resource Mobilization Roadmap, which set the stage for the launch of FRLD’s first Call for Funding Requests at COP30 in Brazil.
 

Making history for the FRLD here in Manila, Philippines, the host country of the Fund. Executive Director of the Fund Ibrahima Cheikh Diong sits down with Daphne Oseña-Paez to reflect on the hard fought journey until now, and next steps for the fund ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage will launch

At #UNGA80, the Government of the Philippines and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) brought together world leaders, ministers, UN officials, civil society, and the private sector to rally support for communities most vulnerable to climate impacts.

Catch the full high-level dialogue here and hear calls for innovative finance, global solidarity, and urgent action ahead of COP30 in Brazil.

Participants from the High level dialogue of the FRLD, discuss how we can enhance coordination and coherence among stakeholders to effectively address the challenges associated with loss and damage.

On the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund–The World Bank Bank Spring Meetings, the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) convened its inaugural High-Level Dialogue, bringing together global leaders, multilateral institutions, and civil society to tackle one of the most urgent challenges of our time: climate-induced loss and damage.

Key outcomes from the dialogue

1️⃣ Commitments to streamline access to climate finance and reduce funding fragmentation
2️⃣ Strong calls for agility, speed, and locally led solutions in climate response
3️⃣ Powerful interventions from leaders across the globe, including Ministers from Pakistan, South Africa, Germany, and COP29 Presidency

Increasingly severe climate change impacts are wreaking destruction across the world, with disastrous implications for human health, wellbeing, livelihoods, culture and security. How to deal with ‘loss and damage’ caused by climate change was for long a controversial topic within the UN climate negotiations, but at COP27 in 2022 governments agreed to establish a dedicated fund to assist developing countries in responding to the challenge. 

2025 marks the year the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage is set to become fully operational. Against this backdrop, ODI’s Global Risks and Resilience Team on 12 February welcomed the Fund’s first Executive Director, Mr. Ibrahima Cheikh Diong. Mr. Diong joined Dr. Emily Wilkinson to discuss his pragmatic vision for what is needed to respond effectively to loss and damage, the key challenges that lie ahead for the Fund's first year of operationalisation, and the critical action and frameworks needed to ensure that the developing nations which suffer the most from climate impacts, receive the resources they urgently need. Experts from NGOs, civil society organisations, think-tanks, universities and philanthropies took part in the discussion at ODI Global’s London hub.

Some African countries lose an average of 2 to 5% of their gross domestic product to manage climate emergencies... Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, Executive Director of the Loss and Damage Response Fund, a crucial mechanism established at COP28 in Dubai to financially support the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, came to present the objectives of this fund.

The loss and damage fund is more than a financial tool; it is a testament to our shared humanity and more resources are essential

The U.N. climate summit in Azerbaijan has cleared the way for aid to flow when lower-income countries are hit.

The Fund for responding to Loss and Damage is now ready to accept contributions after the signing of key documents. The Fund will serve as a lifeline by providing critical and urgent support for those impacted by the devastating consequences of climate change. With this important milestone reached, the Fund is now expected to start financing projects in 2025.

In an interview with Malacañang Press Briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, the inaugural Executive Director of the Board of the FRLD, praised President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for his vision and dedication to the climate fund’s success.

UN Climate Change News, 6 May 2024 – The Board of the fund for responding to loss and damage wrapped up its historic first meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last week.

The meeting marks a significant step forward for the fund, which was operationalized at the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference last December – driven by the work of the secretariat-supported Transitional Committee earlier in 2023. Prior to the opening of the meeting, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President and UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change, addressed the nominated members of the Board.

Developing countries have long pushed for a loss and damage fund to help counter the effects of climate change. As steps are taken to have the fund operationalized, South Africa has been called on to step up and help ensure that Africa’s needs are met.

New York, 23 September 2025 – The Philippines, in collaboration with the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), convened a high-level side event during the High-Level Week of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly to galvanize political and financial momentum for addressing climate-induced loss and damage

Today, the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) held its inaugural High-Level Dialogue on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings, convened under the leadership of the FRLD Board and in coordination with the United Nations Secretary-General.

The FRLD represents an opportunity to reimagine how climate finance can work better for countries already experiencing the extreme impacts of climate change.

FRLD signs partnership with Santiago Network as a means to streamlining support, sharing knowledge, and coordinating delivery for addressing loss and damage.

The past years have shown that solidarity in climate response remains possible and works. Indeed, the establishment of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, or FRLD, represents a landmark in international cooperation and renewed global solidarity toward climate action. Since the decision to operationalize FRLD more than a year ago, significant progress has been made in advancing its mandate — building the capacities of most vulnerable nations in responding to loss and damage and prioritizing swift action in reaching the most affected populations. However, current global projections indicate a stark reality — escalating climate-induced loss and damage far outpace the resources available, underscoring the urgency to capitalize the fund to meet the growing demand.

The Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), under the leadership of its Board and in collaboration with the United Nations Secretary-General, convened its inaugural High-Level Dialogue (HLD) on the margins of the 2025 World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. The HLD, which ran under the theme “Strengthening Responses to Loss and Damage through Complementarity, Coherence and Coordination”, followed a decision taken at the Fund’s fourth Board meeting to launch the Dialogue process to operationalize the Fund’s mandate as a global coordination platform across funding arrangements