Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 3-25-2025

Abstract

COP28 marked the formal operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund, however, its current structure remains inadequate to meet the urgent needs of SIDS which face recurring climate driven losses in the absence of timely and predictable finance. From the perspective of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), this paper examines the post-GST implementation gap and argues that the Fund's weak and fragmented operationalisation is a critical barrier to delivering the GST commitment to provide "timely and adequate support" to vulnerable countries. For SIDS, the credibility of COP30 and the Paris Agreement framework will hinge on embedding a delivery system that ensures fast, equitable, and accountable disbursement.

Drawing on the case of Dominica's devastation by Hurricane Maria, the paper highlights the cascading debt, displacement, and loss of resilience caused by delayed funding. To close this gap, it proposes four priority actions: (i) implementing triggered, automatic disbursement for SIDS based on objective disaster data, (ii) integrating pre- arranged risk-pooling mechanisms to secure scalable, anticipatory finance; piloting blockchain enabled smart contracts to automate, depoliticise, and secure disbursement transactions; and reforming the Fund's governance to guarantee equitable representation and decision making power for SIDS. Collectively, these measures are designed to embed the Fund within a just and action oriented COP30 agenda.

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