"The mounting death toll and devastation in Vanuatu since Cyclone Pam smashed the Pacific island nation this weekend have heightened calls for a global climate change compensation fund.

From the Maldives to the Marshall Islands, small island leaders said yesterday that the losses in Vanuatu -- with 24 confirmed dead and more than 3,300 people displaced, according to the United Nations -- hit home for them, as well.

They and others insist that providing a way to address the unavoidable economic losses suffered due to climate change, known in the lingo of international negotiations as "loss and damage," must be a central part of any new climate accord. With governments preparing to craft a deal in Paris in December, they said, Cyclone Pam gives a tragic potency to their argument."

Lisa Friedman reports for ClimateWire March 17, 2015. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Disaster Risk Reduction Meeting Jolted by Cyclone Pam" (Environment News Service) [3]