Shortly before the scheduled conclusion of the COP27 global climate summit in Egypt, the representatives of about 200 countries will have their first official draft of a closing statement. The ten-page newspaper of the Egyptian conference leadership on Friday morning calls for a phase-out of coal. However, the call of a number of states and climate activists to also say goodbye to oil and gas has not been heeded.
Also unresolved is the dispute over whether a fund will be set up under the umbrella of the United Nations to compensate poor countries for unavoidable climate damage. That means the fatal consequences of global warming such as droughts, floods and hurricanes, but also rising sea levels.
Gewessler: “Essential points are missing”
Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) saw a small step forward in the new design. However, important points are still missing. The exit from fossil fuels remains unmentioned. However, it is a basic condition for overcoming the climate crisis in the long term,” says Gewessler. In terms of adaptation, the wording in the current draft would not correspond to the current status of the negotiations.
It is the first formal text draft, so far there are only main points. The new document calls on states to improve their largely inadequate climate protection plans by the next climate conference, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates in late 2023. Experts criticize the document for not going far enough.
No backsliding in the fight against the climate crisis
The text calls on the international community for a far-reaching and rapid reduction of emissions. Likewise, the transition to clean energy in the 2020s should be much faster. The world must not back down in the fight against the climate crisis.
There are no indications that a UN agreement is needed
There is a very unusual wording regarding fossil fuels: the text says there must be a “rationalization of inefficient subsidies”. Development banks are being asked to adjust their funding to the Paris Agreement. In addition, a ‘roadmap’ must be presented to double adaptation financing to USD 40 billion by 2025 (about EUR 38.7 billion). However, the draft contains no indication of the need for a UN agreement on biological diversity, which will take place at the so-called World Summit on Nature (COP15) in Montreal in December.
The UN meeting COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh with some 34,000 participants is expected to end late Friday afternoon, but it is very likely to be extended into the weekend. An end before Sunday is not expected from circles of the Austrian delegation.
Fund for poorer countries still unclear
Recently, however, there has been movement in the dispute over compensation payments to poorer countries for climate-related damage. After deliberations late Thursday evening, the participants presented a five-page draft of three possible concrete steps on the subject – called “loss and damage” in UN jargon. Mentioned are the immediate establishment of a new fund, or the establishment of the new fund at the next climate conference in Dubai at the end of 2023, and a more general “financing agreement”.
With the design of “Loss and Damage” an agreement on the biggest bone of contention at this year’s conference seems within reach. The concept of damage and losses is used to discuss how the consequences of climate change can be collectively borne in poorer countries, which according to science have contributed little or significantly less to the damage.
In an initial reaction, Greenpeace Austria spoke of a clear step forward. “Now it is up to states not to get lost in the fine print discussion and to campaign for a strong money pool that will be decided at this climate conference,” said Jasmin Duregger, a climate and energy expert at Greenpeace.
Discussion about fees is a glimmer of hope
The Austrian human rights organization Südwind also saw the first positive impulses. “At a climate conference characterized by tough negotiations, it is a ray of hope that compensation for damage and losses is also seriously discussed by the EU,” said Joachim Raich, spokesperson for climate justice for Südwind.
The environmental organization Global 2000 expressed its concern about the tenuous negotiations in Egypt. A conclusion is needed that recognizes the climate damage in the Global South and promises people concrete support: “Anyone who causes great damage and then evades responsibility is committing a hit-and-run. It is a matter of decency to the Global South is destined not to shake off, but to finally act.”
The newspaper speaks of the “urgent and immediate need for new, additional, predictable and appropriate financial resources”. This should support developing countries that are most vulnerable to damage caused by climate change.
China and the US are the largest CO2 emitters in the world
In the plenum, EU climate commissioner Frans Timmermans made a bid for a fund financed by a “broad donor base”. The fund should be part of a “mosaic of solutions”, which also looks at debt and reforms development banks. This means that high-emitting emerging economies, such as China, should contribute, rather than the fund being financed only by the richest countries, which are historically the largest contributors to global warming. China and the US are the largest CO2 emitters in the world.
Equally important are progress in reducing climate-damaging emissions, Timmermans said. These measures and the issue of damage and casualties are “two sides of the same coin”.
Gewessler: 2 “China and Saudi Arabia must also contribute”
For Gewessler, it is a basic requirement that a fund for climate-related damages and losses focuses on the most vulnerable countries. “Countries such as China or Saudi Arabia must also do their part,” the minister said on Friday. There is no precise definition of damage and loss. However, the term usually includes damage from extreme weather events – such as drought or flooding – as well as from slow changes in the course of global warming, such as rising sea levels or desertification.
Guterres back in Egypt to push
UN Secretary-General António Guterres flew back to Egypt after the G20 summit in Bali to exert pressure. “The climate clock is ticking and confidence is decreasing,” he warned. The participants of the climate conference could change something here and now. “I call on you to act — and quickly,” he warned about 24 hours before the meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, was scheduled to end on Friday night, according to its official schedule.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
