sharm el sheikh, egypt
CNN
—
World failed to reach agreement on phasing out fossil fuels after marathon UN climate conference ‘sabotaged’ by many oil-producing countries Country.
At the COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt, negotiators from nearly 200 countries said they would agree to set up a “loss and damage” fund to help vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters. Taking a historic step, the world will almost halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The agreement also reaffirmed the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
But an attempt to address the biggest source of global warming emissions driving the climate crisis has led many countries, including China and Saudi Arabia, to make significant proposals to phase out all fossil fuels, not just coal. After stopping the
German Foreign Minister Annalena Beerbock said in a statement: “It is very frustrating to see expired measures on fossil energy mitigation and phase-out being thwarted by many large emitters and oil producers. ‘ said.
Speaking at the summit early on Sunday morning, the European Union’s climate chief, Frans Timmermans, said the EU was “disappointed” by the summit’s final outcome.
“What’s in front of us is not enough progress for people and the planet…more should have been done,” Timmermans said.
But an agreement to help the world’s most vulnerable countries cope with loss and damage would be a breakthrough in a contentious negotiation process.
Countries and groups including long-standing resistance such as the US and EU have agreed to establish a fund for countries vulnerable to climate disasters exacerbated by pollution disproportionately produced by wealthy developed countries. This is the first time that
Negotiators and non-governmental organizations watching the talks hailed the agreement as a significant achievement after developing countries and small island nations united and stepped up pressure.
“The agreement reached at COP27 is a victory for our entire world. We’ve listened to you, we’ve seen you, and we’ve shown you the respect and care you deserve.”
The creation of the fund also became one of the main demands of the activists attending the summit. Unlike past years, this year’s demonstrations were quiet when mass protests and loud calls to action became part of the event.
Protests are rare and mostly illegal in Egypt, and the Egyptian government has imposed severe restrictions on protesters attending meetings.
Still, the summit’s biggest protest was last weekend when hundreds of activists marched through the grounds demanding climate change payments. I received a standing ovation at the plenary session after I called on them to do the calculations.
A senior Biden administration official told CNN that the fund is focused on what it can do to help finance the loss and damage, but does not include liability or compensation provisions.
Reaching an agreement was not easy. The summit was originally scheduled to end on Friday, but was pushed into overtime as negotiators were still trying to hammer out details as the conference hall was dismantled around it.
The United States and other developed countries have long sought to avoid such provisions that could lead to legal liability and lawsuits from other countries. Climate Envoy John Kerry said that loss and damage are not the same thing as climate compensation.
“‘Compensation’ is not a word or term being used in this context,” Kelly said in a recent call with reporters earlier this month. He added:
Details about how the fund will operate remain unclear. The text leaves many questions as to when it will be completed and operational, and exactly how it will be funded. A committee is also mentioned, but no specific future deadline has been set.
While climate experts celebrated the victory, they also noted the uncertainty ahead.
Ani Dasgupta, CEO of the World Resources Institute, said: “This reparation fund will help poor families whose homes have been destroyed, farmers whose fields have been devastated, and ancestral homes displaced. It will be a lifeline for the islanders,” he said. “At the same time, developing countries are leaving Egypt without clear assurances about how the compensation fund will be overseen.”
Climate change experts say much of the Fund’s success this year is because the G77 bloc of developing countries remained united and exerted a greater impact on loss and damage than in previous years.
Nisha Krishnan, resilience director for Africa at the World Resources Institute, told reporters, “They needed to be together to force the conversations we’re having now.” But the conviction that we need to come together to move the conversation forward has kept the coalition alive.”
For many, the fund represents a hard-fought victory over several years as global attention was focused on climate disasters such as this summer’s devastating floods in Pakistan.
“It seemed like a big pile,” former US special climate envoy Todd Stern told CNN. are not being invested in. As you can see, the impact of real disasters due to climate change is becoming more and more severe.”
For decades, scientists around the world have warned that the average global temperature has already risen to about 1.1 degrees Celsius, so we need to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Above 1.5 degrees Celsius, the risk of extreme droughts, wildfires, floods and food shortages increases dramatically, scientists say in the latest United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
But while summit attendees confirmed the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, climate experts said there was no mention of fossil fuels, or that fossil fuels would be used to limit global temperature rise. Expressed disappointment at needing to phase down fuel. As was done at last year’s Glasgow Summit, the text calls for the phasing out of undiminished coal-fired power generation and “phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”, but all fossil fuel phases It does not go further to seek its abolition. Including oil and gas.
“The impact of the fossil fuel industry has been seen across the board,” European Climate Foundation CEO Lawrence Tubiana said in a statement. We have created a document to protect.This trend cannot continue in the United Arab Emirates next year.”
Even to hold onto the 1.5 degree figure that occurred in Glasgow last year required some dramatic action.
On Saturday, EU officials threatened to walk out of the meeting if the final deal fails to support the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. At a choreographed press conference, Timmermans said, “There is no better deal than a bad deal,” surrounded by a full line-up of ministers and other dignitaries from EU member states.
“We don’t want 1.5 degrees Celsius to die here today. It’s completely unacceptable for us,” he said.
The talks were further complicated by the fact that Kerry, who was leading the US delegation, tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. Although he remained in contact with his team and foreign counterparts by phone, his physical absence was noticeable during the critical time at the summit.
Apart from a final agreement, the summit also brought some important progress, including the resumption of formal climate talks between the United States and China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters.
After China froze climate talks between the two countries this summer, US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the G20 summit in Bali last week to re-establish US-China communication. agreed to do so, paving the way for Kelly and China’s Xie. Zhenhua officially reunites.
“Without China, even if the United States…is headed for a 1.5 degree program…without China, no one else…can reach that goal,” Kelly told CNN last week.
The two sides met throughout the second week of the COP and tried to pick up where they left off before China interrupted talks, sources familiar with the discussions said. They were focused on specific action points, including China’s plans to cut emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and boosting overall emissions targets, sources said. .
Unlike last year, there were no major joint climate announcements from the two countries. However, the resumption of formal communication was seen as an encouraging sign.
Li Shuo, Beijing-based global policy adviser to Greenpeace East Asia, said the COP “had seen extensive interaction between the two sides, led by Kerry and Shay.”
“The challenge is that we should do more than they speak. [and] He added that resuming formal dialogue “helps prevent the worst possible outcome”.
