Developed nations agreed early Sunday morning to create a fund to help developing countries pay for the catastrophic consequences of climate change. The historic agreement, reached after weeks of fraught negotiations at the United Nations climate conference, known as COP27, will establish a committee to design a new fund that vulnerable countries can draw on after a disaster. The crucial question of which countries must provide financing for the fund and which will be eligible to benefit from it has been left to future negotiations. “It is so decided,” said COP27 president Sameh Shoukry, before sealing the deal with a strike of his gavel. The conference hall of weary diplomats broke out in muted applause. The approval represents a significant shift for the United States, which had previously opposed such financing, fearing it could make the country liable for huge sums.