Among the major announcements at this year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference, known as COP28, was the official launch of a “loss and damage” fund to provide financial support to developing countries suffering severe impacts from climate change.

At least 15 countries and the European Union had pledged support for the fund as of early December, totaling more than $650 million, according to figures compiled by environmental group the National Resources Defense Council. Germany and the United Arab Emirates – the latter the host country of this year’s conference – were quick to pledge $100 million each, while France and Italy have pledged the most so far, at totals approaching $110 million each.

The “loss and damage” fund is separate from other U.N.-related climate funds, such as the Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund. The Green Climate Fund, in particular, is “the world’s largest multilateral fund dedicated to helping developing countries address the climate crisis,” according to the NRDC. It was created in 2010 and garnered more than $10 billion in pledges during its first resource mobilization in 2014. The U.S. this month announced a multiyear pledge of $3 billion for the Green Climate Fund as part of the fund’s “second replenishment.”

As it stands, participation in the fund is not mandatory, and draft text states that developed countries are “urged” to contribute to the fund while other countries are encouraged to do so. According to the NRDC, the fund also can accept money from private entities. The World Bank will serve as interim host of the fund, despite opposition from developing countries reportedly concerned about the bank’s financing methods and independence from donor countries like the U.S.

Funds at least in the near term are likely to fall far short of what estimates peg as the actual financial toll of climate change-related loss. One recent analysis concluded that 55 developing nations had suffered $525 billion in loss from temperature and precipitation patterns. Another study says developing countries need at least $400 billion annually to cope with loss and damage.

“The amount pledged initially is barely enough to get the fund running, and little more,” Amnesty International climate advisor Ann Harrison said in a statement, after initial pledges to the fund totaling around $420 million. “Billions of dollars are needed to make a substantive difference to communities in desperate need of help to rebuild homes after storms, or to support farmers when their crops are destroyed, or those permanently displaced by the climate crisis.”