New Delhi: According to reports, small island nations at the UN COP27 meeting have called for highly polluting countries like China and India to contribute to a climate compensation fund to aid countries in rebuilding following disasters brought on by climate change.
Gaston Browne, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, made these remarks on Tuesday during the summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
According to media reports, Browne's remarks mark the first time that China and India have been grouped together as significant emitters by small island nations.
Browne, speaking on behalf of the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) negotiating bloc, told media persons on the sidelines of the summit that though both India and China are emerging economies, they have a responsibility towards paying into a climate compensation fund.
Delegates at the conference agreed to put the topic of loss and damage onto the formal agenda for the first time in the history of international climate negotiations, reports said further.
"We all know that the People's Republic of China, India they're major polluters, and the polluter must pay," Browne was quoted as saying by reports.
"I don't think that there's any free pass for any country and I don't say this with any acrimony."
In climate talks parlance, the phrase "loss and damage" refers to costs already being incurred from climate-fuelled weather extremes or impacts, like rising sea levels.
With inputs from IANS