The world just took a big step toward compensating countries hit by deadly floods, heat and droughts.

Nearly all nations on Thursday finalized the creation of a fund to help compensate countries struggling to cope with loss and damage caused by climate change, seen as a major first-day breakthrough at this year’s U.N. climate conference. Some countries started putting in money right away — if little compared to the overall anticipated needs.

In an auspicious start for the two-week climate summit known as COP28, delegates agreed on the details of a fund to compensate developing countries for damages caused by warming temperatures.

The loss and damage fund, which was first created at last year's COP27 summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, has now been "operationalized," and some countries have already agreed to start paying into it. A draft agreement was circulated earlier in November, though some controversy surrounded its details, like the designation of the World Bank as the home for the fund.

The Biden administration has pledged millions of dollars to a de facto international “climate reparations” fund at the United Nations (UN) climate summit in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The fund, referred to by its proponents as a “loss and damage fund,” is intended to have developed countries transfer money to the developing world as compensation for the impacts of climate change. The U.S. promised more than $17 million to the fund on Thursday, according to Axios.