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The UN Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), also called the Loss and Damage Fund, is an international public climate-finance mechanism intended to help particularly vulnerable developing countries respond to climate-related losses. Contributors pledge money to the Fund; eligible countries seek support through government direct budget support or approved partner entities. Pledges, money received, programme funding and country requests are different figures—and a request is not an award.
What the Loss and Damage Fund is for
The FRLD’s mandate is to help particularly vulnerable developing countries address economic and non-economic loss and damage associated with climate change. That includes impacts from both extreme events and slow-onset events. The Fund is a mechanism for public climate finance between institutions and countries, not a benefit that individuals can apply for directly. FRLD Board mandate
Who pays into the Fund?
Contributors make pledges and enter contribution agreements, after which funds may be transferred to the FRLD. As of 31 July 2026, the Board reported USD 822.71 million pledged and USD 485.77 million received, with contribution agreements signed with 25 contributors. The pledged total is not the same as cash received or available to spend. FRLD Board, 2026 annual report
The Board describes its first-stage resource mobilization strategy as a way to scale resources and support continuity of the initial programme while a longer-term model develops. A first replenishment process is planned to start in 2027; the report says details and sequencing remained for the Board to take forward. FRLD Board, 2026 annual report
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Who can apply for support?
The Fund’s intended recipients are developing countries particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Under the initial programme’s access arrangements, countries submit requests through one of three broad routes. The 2025 Board addendum describes the routes as follows: FRLD Board, 2025 addendum
| Access route | How it works |
|---|---|
| Government direct budget support | A national government submits a request directly and receives support through direct budget support. |
| Partnership direct budget support | A government works with an entity whose standards and safeguards are judged functionally equivalent to those of multilateral development banks. |
| Accredited entity | A country accesses the Fund through an entity accredited to the Adaptation Fund, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), or the Green Climate Fund (GCF). |
The route determines whether the government submits directly or works through an entity, and which entity standards, safeguards and oversight arrangements apply. The Board’s reported request counts show that accredited-entity access was the most-used route in the initial pipeline, but they do not show that one route is faster or more successful.
What the initial programme funds—and where it stands
The FRLD’s initial Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM) were established as a USD 250 million grant programme for 2025–2026. That programme envelope is distinct from both the Fund’s overall contributions and the amounts countries requested. FRLD Board, 2025 annual report
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Countries could request support for responses such as livelihood restoration or diversification, restoring essential services, institutional strengthening, training and capacity-building, climate information and data, and protection or restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Requests commonly addressed both economic and non-economic losses. These are examples of proposed activities and programme scope, not a promise that each activity is eligible in every case or that every request was funded. FRLD Board, 2026 annual report
The BIM request call closed on 15 June 2026. In its 2026 report, the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage Board said: “In all, 198 funding requests were received, of which 176 funding requests were marked as compliant and entered the BIM funding request pipeline.” Those compliant requests covered 119 countries and totalled USD 2.8 billion—far more than the initial programme envelope. The pipeline records requests, not approvals, commitments or disbursements. FRLD Board, Report of the Board to COP 31/CMA 8 (2026)
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the request pipeline used the access routes
The Board’s 2026 report counted the 198 submitted requests across the routes this way. These are pipeline figures, not a breakdown of awarded funding. FRLD Board, 2026 annual report
| Route used | Requests | Share of requests |
|---|---|---|
| Direct government budget support | 26 | 15% |
| Partnership direct-budget-support modality | 6 | 3% |
| Accredited entities | 144 | 82% |
Separately, the report says 50 requests—28.4% of all requests—involved direct access through national access entities and/or national governments. That measure describes a category of access within the submitted requests; it should not be read as a count of approved recipients. Requests in the pipeline covered countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe. The report attributes 60.8% of the total amount requested to least developed countries and small island developing States; its calculation equally allocates some multi-country request budgets where a country-level breakdown was unavailable. FRLD Board, 2026 annual report
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How to read the headline amounts
- Pledged: money contributors have promised; it has not necessarily been transferred.
- Received: money transferred into the Fund.
- Programme envelope: the amount set aside for a defined programme, such as the BIM’s USD 250 million grant envelope for 2025–2026.
- Requested: the amount countries sought in their applications; the USD 2.8 billion figure is the BIM pipeline total, not money committed or distributed.
- Approved or disbursed: a funding decision or transfer to support activities. The cited pipeline figures do not establish these amounts.
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