In November, 2022, at least 162 people have been killed after a magnitude-5.6 earthquake struck Indonesia’s main island of Java, triggering
landslides and causing buildings to collapse. The US Geological Survey said the quake, which struck late in the afternoon, was centred in the Cianjur
region of West Java province at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km). Ridwan Kamil, the governor of West Java, said 162 people had been killed. The majority of those who died were children,” he said, adding that many were students who were taking extra lessons. “So many incidents occurred at several Islamic schools.” Gen Suharyanto, the head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), said the nearby Sayang hospital had no power after the quake, hampering efforts to treat victims, and that more medical staff were needed. Several landslides were reported across Cianjur. Dozens of buildings were damaged, including an Islamic boarding school, a hospital and other public facilities, the BNPB said.
Source: The Gaurdian
COP27 Reaches Breakthrough Agreement on New “Loss and Damage” Fund for Vulnerable Countries
The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 closed with a breakthrough agreement to provide “loss and damage” funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters. “This outcome moves us forward,” said Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary. “We have determined a way forward on a decades-long conversation on funding for loss and damage – deliberating over how we address the impacts on communities whose lives and livelihoods have been ruined by the very worst impacts of climate change.” Set against a difficult geopolitical backdrop, COP27 resulted in countries delivering a package of decisions that reaffirmed their commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The package also strengthened action by countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change, as well as boosting the support of finance, technology and capacity building needed by developing countries. Creating a specific fund for loss and damage marked an important point of progress, with the issue added to the official agenda and adopted for the first time at COP27. Governments took the ground-breaking decision to establish new funding arrangements, as well as a dedicated fund, to assist developing countries in responding to loss and damage. Governments also agreed to establish a ‘transitional committee’ to make recommendations on how to operationalize both the new funding arrangements and the fund at COP28 next year. The first meeting of the transitional committee is expected to take place before the end of March 2023.
Source: unfcc.int
