VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Countries agreed at last month's United Nations climate summit to create a fund to help poor countries damaged by climate disasters, but it will likely take two years to work out where the money will come from, a German climate official said on Wednesday.

The deal to create a "loss and damage" fund was hailed as a breakthrough for developing country negotiators at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt, overcoming years of resistance from wealthy nations in European Union and United States.

Germany's climate envoy Jennifer Morgan in a press briefing in Sao Paulo, Brazil, laid out the timeline for getting the fund up and running.

"By next year at COP28, there can be a decision on the institutional makeup of that fund," Morgan said, referring to the next round of U.N. climate talks to begin in November in Dubai.

"The other areas of who funds those institutions, I think (discussions) will continue for another year."

Morgan, along with Chile's environment minister, led the working group that came up with the U.N. deal on loss and damage.

The fund was created on the principle that rich, industrialized nations that are responsible for most of the world's greenhouse emissions should pay developing countries for the damage caused to the climate. But Morgan said the fund needed to go beyond public money from industrialized countries to find innovative funding sources.

For example, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has suggested instituting a tax on fossil fuel companies' windfall profits, she said.

The COP27 agreement also called for reforms of international financial institutions, such as the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund, to find ways to contribute loss and damage finance.

The EU has argued that China - the world's second-biggest economy, but classified by the U.N. as a developing country - should also pay into the fund.

Separately on Wednesday, U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry told Reuters that the United States consulted with COP27 host Egypt and the United Nations on loss and damage, proposing that the fund be created in 2023 rather than 2024. (Reuters)

China's economic growth will keep picking up pace with the implementation of the newly-announced anti-COVID adjustment measures, state media CCTV quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying on Thursday.

China will also keep the yuan exchange rate basically stable, and this is also conducive to safeguarding global supply chain stability, CCTV said.

Li made the remarks during meetings with World Bank President David Malpass, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, CCTV said. (Reuters)

The Hong Kong government said on Thursday that the isolation period for COVID-19 patients and their close contacts will be cut to five days from seven days.

The requirement for arrivals to Hong Kong to undergo daily rapid antigen tests would also be reduced from seven to five days.

However, the current social distancing measures, including mandatory masks and the use of a contact tracing app in public buildings, bars and restaurants, will remain until Dec. 28.

Hong Kong's moves come after Chinese authorities on Wednesday announced the most sweeping changes to the nation's stringent COVID control measures since the pandemic began three years ago. (Reuters)

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi officially opened the 15th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) in 2022. In a statement after the opening of the BDF, Retno said the theme taken at this time's BDF was "Democracy in a Changing World: Leadership and Solidarity." This is relevant to the current world situation which is facing extraordinary challenges.

"In order to face this challenge, strong and effective collective leadership and world solidarity are needed," he said after opening the BDF, Thursday (8/12) in Nusa Dua, Bali, which was monitored virtually from Jakarta.

Minister Retno conveyed that a number of institutions have reported that the quality of democracy is currently declining.

“International IDEA reports that democracy is in decline or stagnant. This stagnation or setback also occurs in even established democratic countries," he said.

In addition, Freedom House data shows a decline in democracy over the last 16 years. Meanwhile, the V-Dem Institute said the average quality of democracy had fallen to the level it was 30 years ago. And in Asia Pacific itself, it is estimated that 54% of the population lives under a democracy.

However, according to Retno, despite all the challenges that exist, there are still many people who believe democracy must continue to be developed, including Indonesia. He explained, with democracy, Indonesia has succeeded in managing the Covid-19 pandemic well.

"With democracy, we have managed to carry out or manage this pandemic well," he said.

Apart from that, according to him, Indonesia is also pushing for vaccine equality globally. Indonesia is also pushing for health funding support for developing countries.

Retno Marsudi also expressed optimism for democracy in facing the challenges of a world recession in 2023.

"The principle of solidarity is very important in promoting an inclusive recovery," he said.

Although democracy is not perfect, according to Retno, Indonesia's experience has shown that democracy works.

“Democracy pays off; democracy delivers and democracy is once again the best way to govern and serve the interests of the people," he said.

The 15th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) was held in a hybrid manner. The 2022 BDF was attended by 323 participants from 112 countries and 5 international organizations, and 52 of them attended virtually. (VOI/Andy)