Barbados would be able to rebuild at no cost to taxpayers if devastated by any major natural disaster thanks to an historic multi-billion-dollar climate crisis deal that’s expected to take effect in 2024. Though the quantum is still to be agreed, the fund is expected to move closer to establishment over the coming year when a transition team meets to work out the “nuts and bolts” of the funding and its sources and make recommendations that will get it up and running in 2024Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s Special Envoy for Climate Finance Professor Avinash Persaud revealed this on Monday following the brokering of an agreement on Sunday at the COP27 United Nations Climate Summit in Egypt. Professor Persaud said while Barbados had been suggesting the establishment of a climate fund of between US$50 billion and US$100 billion, the transition committee will make the final determination. “The plan that was agreed in Sharm el-Sheikh was that the transition committee would be established. It would have a number of meetings designed to define the source of the revenue, the actual mechanisms as to how it will be distributed. It will make recommendations for next year’s conference of parties which is going to be held in Dubai around December.“It is hoped that at that conference they will then establish those recommendations and the fund would probably be in existence by the following talks. So we are looking like 2024,” the finance consultant revealed during an interview with Barbados TODAY.