Cop28 has pledged billions in climate change funds – but it barely scratches the surface

Small islands are already disappearing underwater and evidence shows climate finance is nowhere near enough to save them, reports Nick Ferris from Cop28 in Dubai. Despite one big breakthrough on money for poorer nations, global finances need to be transformed to hit our climate goals

The aftermath of violent storm on Tuvalu, the likes of which are increasing with climate change (Getty)

When panic-buying hit the UK in March 2020, it was a rare moment: a curious knock-on effect of the emerging Covid pandemic.

For residents of small-island states, however, the growing terror that hurricane season brings means that panic buying is now part of life. Climate change means more regular and more violent storms, leading to unmanageable economic losses for residents of islands that are typically developing countries.

“I dread hurricane season each year because of how much disposable income we – and particularly poorer people – have to spend on supplies in case the storm is bad,” said Michai Robertson, from the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, in an interview with The Independent. “The situation is worsening as the storms are getting noticeably worse, and more intense. The rains now are crazy; It is very different to how it was when I was a child.”