What You Need to Know About COP27

The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) was held from November 6 to November 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. According to the UN, over 100 Heads of State and Governments attended, with more than 35,000 participants. The annual summit aims to demonstrate global cooperation towards climate goals.

The biggest topic discussed this year was adaptation to climate change, specifically protecting the most climate-vulnerable communities. From Pakistan’s $30 billion in flood damages to extreme droughts in Eastern Africa, developing nations endure great struggles from the significant amount of fossil fuels emitted by developed, wealthy countries. Developing nations have advocated for financial support for three decades. Representatives at COP27 finally addressed this issue by creating a “loss and damage” agreement. The agreement works to distribute funds to countries who are on the front-lines of climate change. Representatives from 24 countries will be collaborating over the next year to organize what form the fund should take, which countries and financial institutions should contribute, and where the money should go.

While developing countries had a positive response to the loss and damage agreement, scientists are saying it is not enough. The 2015 Paris Agreement aimed to limit our global average temperature to a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase since pre-industrial times. Currently, our temperature has increased 1.1 degrees Celsius, and scientists say we are on track to a 2.5 degrees Celsius increase by the end of the century. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), greenhouse gas emissions must decline 45% by 2030 to limit global warming to a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase. This means countries must cut their emissions in half.

Western negotiators, low-lying Pacific island representatives, and many more are furious about the lack of progress on reducing fossil fuel emissions. According to the Financial Times, more than 80 nations had supported the proposal to exceed COP26, calling for a “phase-down” of all fossil fuels. Unfortunately, it was blocked by large emitters such as Canada, Saudi Arabia, and China. Many argue that high fossil fuel emitting countries are exploiting their relationships with Egypt and utilizing unfair negotiation strategies to avoid reduction agreements. The loss and damage agreement failed to address greenhouse gas emissions reduction and “did not go further than the weakened Glasgow COP26 pledge to phase down polluting coal power and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.” According to Frans Timmerman, the EU’s top climate official, there is a growing divide between climate science and climate policies.

While EU nations have already donated $300 million to the loss and damage agreement, the funds are nowhere close to the value of the damages vulnerable countries are facing. There is no guarantee that wealthy countries will provide compensation to the loss and damage agreement. For example, ten years ago, the US, EU, and other emitters pledged $100 billion to climate financing by 2020 for poorer countries to switch to clean energy and strengthen adaptation efforts. Now, two years after 2020, pledgers are still tens of billions away from fulfilling their target. In order to provide funding for the loss and damage agreement, the US needs to approve money through Congress. When Biden sought $2.5 billion in climate finance last year, he only obtained $1 billion, and that was when the House was controlled by Democrats. The Republicans will take over the House in January, making it even harder to collect funding. The US and EU hope to add China and Saudi Arabia to the donor category. Despite being one of the leading emitters and having one of the largest economies in the world, China has withheld being considered a developed country in terms of climate change.

Vox argues that the main problem with the COP process is that “limiting rising temperatures requires everyone to act aggressively – and quickly – but no one can force anyone else to do anything.” This causes “a slow and tense negotiation process.” The future of our planet depends on the future of this climate summit. Temperatures keep rising, and the world’s cooperation is the only thing that can stop them.

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