New Delhi: World biggest annual climate conference COP27 will begin from Sunday in the coastal city of Egypt Sharm El-Sheik, which will bring together world leaders from 198 countries to take concerted action on climate change.
The thirteen days conference till, November 18 will discuss on the five major issues which include food, water, industry decarbonization and climate adaptation.
At the meeting, country representatives also ponder upon climate change mitigation (the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that cause the planet to warm) and financing to support developing countries in their efforts to move away from fossil fuels and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
The conference of the parties is the group of nations that have signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was put together in 1992.
The first UN Climate conference were held in Berlin, Germany in 1995. The most iconic meeting COP15 was held in 2015, where countries approved the Paris Agreement.
This landmark deal under which each country was to submit its own pledges on emissions reductions and adaptation measures, in a collective effort to keep global warming “well below 2 degrees Celsius” compared with pre-industrial levels. They also set the aspirational target of keeping warming within 1.5C.
Why COP27 is important?
As the world is not on the track to limit the global warming to 1.5 degrees as committed in the Paris agreement, COP27 will be make or break movement for global action to mitigate climate change.
The disastrous impacts of climate change are becoming more frequent and acute. The most recent IPCC Report found that almost 3.3 billion people now live in highly vulnerable climate contexts.
At COP27, world can expect to see climate adaptation at the center of talks.
Developing countries are looking forward to substantial progress on the discussions related to climate finance. More clarity is needed on the definition of climate finance for developing countries to be able to accurately assess the extent of finance flows for climate action. The goal of $100 billion per year of climate finance by 2020 and every year thereafter till 2025 is yet to be achieved.
Loss and damage must also be on the agenda of COP27 and there must be specific progress on the issue of loss and damage finance.
The existing financial mechanisms, such as Global Environment Facility (GEF), Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Adaptation Fund, under the Convention have not been able to mobilise or deliver funds for loss and damage due to climate change.
What does COP27 means to India?
India has already extended its’ full support to the government of Egypt for “substantive” outcomes at COP 27.
In its statement, the minister says, India is looking forward to substantial progress on the discussions related to climate finance and clarity on its definition.
As it is a saying that “what gets measured gets done”, more clarity is needed on the definition of climate finance for the developing countries to be able to accurately assess the extent of finance flows for climate action.
At COP 27, India, along with other developing countries such as the Like-Minded Developing Countries, will be emphasising that the $100 goal mentioned above is yet to be achieved.
A 2021 study on extreme weather events found that India was the seventh most impacted country in the world.
In September this year, India’s Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav announced that loss and damage due to climate change will be a major discussion point this year at COP27 in Egypt.
At COP27, developed countries will be under pressure from vulnerable nations to prioritise support for loss and damage during the negotiations.
What the world leaders and agencies have to say about COP27?
The UN has urged the world’s industrialized nations to ‘lead by example’ by taking ‘bold and immediate actions”.
UN Chief UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said Climate disasters are already hurting countries and COP27 will state in Egypt and present a crucial opportunity for leaders to make a meaningful progress on climate promises.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said, that, “We trust the world will come together, yet again, to reaffirm its commitment to the global climate agenda despite the difficulties and uncertainties of our time,”
He added that I am positive that all parties and stakeholders will be coming to Sharm El-Sheikh with a stronger will and a higher ambition on mitigation, adaptation, and climate finance, demonstrating actual success stories on implementing commitments and fulfilling pledges
UN Climate Change Chief Simon Stiell has reinforced the message that COP27 is a moment of truth for the international community.
He said in the last three decades we’ve put off the tough choices we need to make. Yes, we’ve made some headway. But fighting an exponential emergency with incremental progress is like fighting a wildfire with a garden hose.
Newly elected UK Prime Minster Rishi Sunak, noted that there is no long-term prosperity without on climate change. There is no energy security without investing in renewables.
Egypt’s chief negotiator Mohamed Nasr highlights the urgency the gap and scaling up the climate finance across all sector. He says, the lack of response to the finance needs of developing nations estimated to be 5.6trillion dollars up to 2030, are all crucial issues implementation that will be discussed at COP27.
What happened in the COP26?
The most recent one, COP26, was held in the Scottish city of Glasgow in November 2021. It brought together 120 world leaders and representatives from almost 200 countries. It culminated in the Glasgow, which reaffirmed the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of “limiting the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C”.
During the conference other commitments included phasing down coal-fired power generation – the first time this has been explicitly included in UN climate talk decisions.
There were also agreements to reduce methane emissions, reverse deforestation and land degradation, and pledge more finance to help developing countries cope with climate change.
