Technology Desk : Meta Platforms Inc is exploring plans to launch a new social media app in its bid to displace Twitter as the world`s "digital town square".

"We`re exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates. We believe there`s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

Meta`s app will be based on a similar framework that powers Mastodon, a Twitter-like service that was launched in 2016.

A Twitter-like app would allow Meta to take advantage of the current chaos at the Elon Musk-led company, where cost-cutting has been rampant.

Twitter has been struggling to hold on to its advertising base since Musk`s takeover of the platform late last year. Companies have pulled back spending following Twitter`s move to restore suspended accounts and release a paid account verification that resulted in scammers impersonating firms.

Meta`s plans come at a time when its biggest platform, Facebook, is struggling to attract the a

ttention of a younger audience, while its huge investments in the metaverse, a virtual world where users interact and work, show little signs of p

aying off, at least in the near term.

Its video-sharing app, Instagram, is also facing stiff competition as content makers or hit influencers abandon the platform for TikTok.

It was not immediately clear when Meta would roll out the new app.

"The history of Meta is that they are much better acquirers than they are innovators or developers ... as far as copying Twitter, this is just a defensive move," said Thomas Hayes, chairman and managing member of New York-based Great Hill Capital.

"They`re just trying everything... at least with a mini blogging site like Twitter, there`s some expectation that it could start to make money out of much quicker timeline than the metaverse investment."

Meta`s investments in the metaverse will not drive revenue growth until 2030, analysts have said.

Meta shares were marginally higher at $181.7 in early trade on Friday. They have gained about 51% so far this year.

Climate-vulnerable nations prepare to deploy `loss and damage` funds

Climate-vulnerable countries plan to set up national funds to help them tackle losses and damage caused by extreme weather and rising seas, which will collect money from different sources including wealthy governments, business, insurance and aid.
The finance facilities will work with communities to prepare them to deal with worsening climate change impacts, said Ritu Bharadwaj, climate researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), a London-based think tank.
One key way to reduce losses in places prone to floods or storms is to strengthen early warning systems and provide upfront funding so that local people can take measures to protect themselves before a disaster strikes, she said.

"If a flood or drought is expected to occur in a certain area, they will be provided with support even before the crisis occurs," said Bharadwaj.
Climate "loss and damage" includes not just harm to people, their homes and infrastructure from disasters but also forced displacement from slower effects such as sea level rise, as well as losses of cultural heritage and livelihoods.
At last November`s COP27 UN climate summit, countries reached a breakthrough agreement - after years of resistance from rich nations - to set up a global funding mechanism for loss and damage, though the details are still being worked out.
In Dhaka this week, a group of the world`s poorest countries joined forces with small island developing states to seek global finance for loss and damage, and work out how to use it.
The first six to take part in the initiative are Bangladesh, Nepal, Senegal, Malawi, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu.

Earlier this month, the Pacific island state of Vanuatu was struck by twin cyclones in a matter of days.
These frontline countries will assess the climate risks they face, and identify and address gaps in how they support people hit by loss and damage, IIED executive director Tom Mitchell said.
SLOW UN PROGRESS
UN chief António Guterres told the Human Rights Council in late February that nearly half of the world`s population - 3.5 billion people - already live in "climate hotspots".
"These vast areas are fast becoming human rights disaster zones where floods, droughts and storms mean people are 15 times more likely to die of climate impacts," he added in a speech.
Today, the costs of the loss and damage resulting from such disasters are largely borne by ordinary people, said Saleemul Huq, director of the Dhaka-based International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), a partner in the new alliance.
For example, rural families in Bangladesh are estimated to be spending about $2 billion a year to prevent and repair climate damage, according to a 2021 study by IIED, the UN Development Programme and Britain`s Kingston University.