G7 launches climate 'Shield' fund, some countries wary

'Global Shield' plan launched at COP27 climate summit aims to get money to poor nations fast after disasters

A G7-led plan dubbed "Global Shield" to provide funding to countries suffering climate disasters was launched at the U.N. COP27 summit on Monday, although some questioned the effectiveness of the planned scheme.

Coordinated by Group of 7 president Germany and the V20 group of climate-vulnerable countries, it aims to rapidly provide pre-arranged insurance and disaster protection funding after events such as floods, droughts and hurricanes hit.

Backed by 170 million euros ($175.17 million) in funding from Germany and 40 million euros from other donors including Denmark and Ireland, the Global Shield will in the next few months develop support to be deployed in countries including Pakistan, Ghana, Fiji and Senegal when events occur.

Some countries and campaigners were cautious, however, concerned it risked damaging efforts to secure a substantive deal on financial help for so-called "loss and damage" - the U.N. jargon for irreparable damage wrought by global warming.

German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said the Global Shield aimed to complement, not replace, progress on loss and damage.

"It is not a kind of tactic to avoid formal negotiation on loss and damage funding arrangements here," Schulze said. "Global Shield isn't the one and only solution for loss and damage. Certainly not. We need a broad range of solutions."

Some research suggests that by 2030, vulnerable countries could face $580 billion per year in climate-linked "loss and damage".