Harvest of the Sharm El-Sheikh climate conference COP27
Harvest of the climate conference in Sharm El SheikhCOP27
The United Nations Climate Change ConferenceCOP27 concluded with a major agreement to provide “loss and damage” financing to vulnerable countries severely affected by climate disasters.
Simon Steele, Executive Secretary for Climate Change at the United Nations, said: “This important result pushes us to move forward.” “We have charted a specific path; To move forward in conversations that have been going on for years and decades about financing losses and damages, and to discuss how to reverse and address the impacts of climate change on communities whose livelihoods have been destroyed; Because of the worst effects of climate change the world has ever seen.”
Against a difficult geopolitical background, theClimate SummitCOP27 resulted in countries presenting a set of resolutions to confirm their commitment to limiting global warming to “1.5 degrees Celsius” above Levels before the industrial revolution. This package also strengthened the measures taken by countries; To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in addition to adapting to the inevitable effects of climate change, along with enhancing financing and technology support, and building the capabilities that developing countries need.
It should be noted that the establishment of a dedicated fund for “loss and damage” is considered a very important point of progress, and the addition of this issue to the official agenda and its adoption for the first time inCOP27 represents progress. Important.
The governments of the participating countries took an important and bold decision to establish new financing arrangements, in addition to a dedicated fund to help developing countries respond to losses and damage. The participating governments also agreed to establish what is known as a “transition committee” that will be responsible for making recommendations on how to activate both the new financing arrangements and the dedicated fund inCOP28 next year. It is expected that the first meeting of the Transitional Committee will be held before the end of March 2023.
The parties also agreed on institutional arrangements to activate the “Santiago” network for losses and damages; To stimulate technical assistance to developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of climate change.
New pledges, totaling more than $230 million, were made to the Adaptation Fund at COP27. These pledges will help many vulnerable communities adapt to climate change through concrete adaptive solutions. Minister Sameh Shoukry, President of COP27, announced theSharm El Sheikh plan for adaptation and enhancing resilience for people living in communities most vulnerable to climate change by 2030. He asked the Permanent Committee on Financing The United Nations Climate Change Commission is preparing a report on doubling adaptation financing for consideration at COP28 next year.
The Climate Summit COP27, known as the “Implementation Summit” in Sharm El Sheikh, highlighted that the global transition to a low-carbon economy is expected to require investments of no less than “4-6 trillion” US dollars annually. Providing such financing will require a rapid and comprehensive transformation of the financial system, its structures and processes, and the engagement of governments, central banks, commercial banks, institutional investors and other financial actors.
The summit also expressed grave concern; Because the developed countries’ pledge to jointly mobilize “100 billion” US dollars annually by 2020 has not yet been achieved, the developed countries were urged to fulfill their pledge, as the multilateral development banks and international financial institutions were called upon to secure financing. Related to climate.
At COP27, deliberations continued on setting a “new collective, quantified target on climate finance” in 2024, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries.
During the activities of the climate conference, a two-day summit of world leaders was held during the first week of the conference, and six high-level round table discussions were held. The discussions highlighted solutions - on topics including food security, vulnerable communities and just transition - to chart a path to overcome climate challenges and how to provide the financing, resources and tools needed to effectively implement climate action at scale.
More than 45,000 participants attended COP27 to exchange ideas and solutions and build partnerships and coalitions. Indigenous peoples and local communities, cities and civil society, including youth and children, demonstrated how they are coping with climate change and shared how it affects their lives.
The decisions taken at the Climate Summit reaffirm the critical importance of empowering all stakeholders to engage in climate action; In particular through the Five-Year Action Plan on Action for Climate Empowerment and the Intermediate Review of the Gender Action Plan. It is expected that these results will enable all parties to work together in an integrated manner to address any imbalance in participation, and provide stakeholders alike with the necessary tools. To catalyze and advance greater and more comprehensive climate action at all levels.
We do not forget that young people in particular were given a prominent and different place at the COP27 climate conference, where the Executive Secretary of the United Nations concerned with climate change promised that national governments would listen to the new solutions proposed by young people, in addition to striving to integrate these solutions. Solutions in decision and policy making. There is no doubt that young people made their voices heard through the first pavilion of its kind dedicated to youth and children, in addition to the first youth-led climate forum of its kind.
In parallel with the formal negotiations, the global climate action space at COP27 provided a platform for governments, companies and civil society to collaborate and present their realistic climate solutions. The United Nations High-Level Champions for Climate Change held a two-week program of more than 50 events, including a number of key African-led initiatives to reduce emissions and build resilience to climate change, resulting in significant work in mobilizing Financing.
The next step for change is approaching, with the United Arab Emirates, the incubator of the COP28 climate conference, supervising the first global assessment, as for the first time we will evaluate the implementation of the Paris Agreement, to determine independently the extent of the progress we have achieved and whether our goals have met Sufficient.
Steele reminded delegates at the closing plenary session that the world is going through a critical decade for climate action, and what confirms this is a stark report from the United Nations on climate change, as well as discussions throughout the two-week conference. According to the report, implementation of current pledges by national governments puts the world on track for a world 2.5 degrees Celsius warmer by the end of the century. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that greenhouse gas emissions must fall by 45% by 2030 to limit global warming to “1.5 degrees Celsius.”
COP27 President Sameh Shoukry said: “The work we have been able to do here in the past two weeks, and the results we have achieved together, are a testament to our collective will, as a community of countries, to express a clear message that rings loudly today. Here in this room and around the world: that multilateral diplomacy still works…. Despite the difficulties and challenges of our time, the diversity of viewpoints, and the level of ambition or fear, we remain committed to combating climate change…. We rose to the occasion, shouldered our responsibilities, and made the important, decisive political decisions that millions around the world expect of us.”
The following is a summary of some other key outcomes of COP 27:
Technology
COP27 witnessed the launch of a new, five-year work program to promote climate technology solutions in developing countries.
Mitigating climate impacts
COP27 has made significant progress in work on mitigating the impacts of climate change, with the launch of the Mitigation Action Program in Sharm El Sheikh, with the aim of accelerating the ambitious scale-up and implementation of mitigation strategies. The work program will begin immediately after COP27 and continue until 2026 when there will be a review to consider extending it. Governments were also asked to reconsider and consolidate the 2030 targets in their national climate plans by the end of 2023, in addition to accelerating efforts to relentlessly phase out coal-fired power and phase out ineffective fossil fuel subsidies.
The conference also stressed that the unprecedented global energy crisis underscores the urgent need to quickly transform energy systems to become safer and more resilient, by accelerating clean and just transitions to renewable energy during this critical decade.
Global Inventory
Delegates at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) concluded the second technical dialogue of the First Global Assessment Process, a mechanism for raising ambition under the Paris Agreement. The UN Secretary-General will convene a Climate Ambition Summit in 2023, before concluding the assessment at COP28 next year.
A group of important announcements at the climate conference in Sharm El Sheikh:
Countries launched a package of 25 new cooperative activities in five main areas: energy, road transport, steel, hydrogen, and agriculture.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations “Antonio Guterres” announced a plan worth “3.1 billion” US dollars; To ensure the protection of every person on this planet through early warning systems within the next five years.
The UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero Commitments published a report at COP27, which serves as a guide to ensuring reliable and accountable pledges by industry, financial institutions, cities and regions.
The G7 and V20 (“the 20 most vulnerable to climate change”) launched the Global Shield against Climate Risk, with new commitments of more than $200 million in seed funding.
Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the Belgian Walloon region announced US$105.6 million in new funding, and stressed the need for more support for global environmental funds targeting immediate climate adaptation.
Indonesia’s new partnership for a just energy transition, which was announced at the G20 summit held in parallel with COP 27, will mobilize “US$20 billion” over the next three to five years to accelerate the just energy transition.
Important progress has been made in protecting forests with the launch of the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership, which aims to unify actions taken by governments, businesses and community leaders to stop forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
