The countries participating in the 27th United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP27) adopted a final agreement that demanded much struggle at the climate summit earlier this Sunday (20) and that establishes a fund to help poorer countries affected by climate disasters, but it does not reinforce efforts to deal with the emissions that cause them.
After tense overnight negotiations, the Egyptian presidency of COP27 released the final text for an agreement and simultaneously convened a plenary session to quickly confirm it.
The swift approval of the dedicated damages fund still left many of the most controversial decisions about it for next year, including who has to contribute to the fund.
Negotiators voiced no objections and COP27 President Sameh Shoukry discussed final agenda items. When dawn came at the summit site, in the resort Egyptian from Sharm el-Sheikh, this Sunday, the deal was ready.
Although there was no agreement on stricter reductions in pollutant emissions, “we went with what was in the agreement because we want to be on the side of the most vulnerable”, said the secretary of the climate of Germany, Jennifer Morgan, visibly irritated.
Delegates commended the advance of organizing the fund as climate justice, for its aim to help vulnerable countries cope with storms, floods and other disasters fueled by rich nations’ historic carbon emissions.
Asked by Reuters if the goal of a stronger ambition to tackle the climate was compromised in the name of the agreement, Mexico’s top negotiator, Camila Zepeda, summed up the situation among the negotiators: “probably. You accept a victory when you get it.”
Fossil fuels
The two-week summit was seen as a test of humanity’s resolve to tackle climate change – even as a war in Europe, energy market woes and soaring inflation distract international attention.
Called the African COP, the summit in Egypt had promised to highlight the situation of poor countries facing the most severe consequences of global warming, caused mainly by rich and industrialized nations.
The United States also supported the damages provision, but its climate envoy John Kerry did not attend the session after testing positive for Covid-19 this week.
Negotiators from the European Union (EU) and other countries had previously said they were concerned about attempts to block measures to strengthen last year’s Glasgow Climate Pact.
“It is beyond frustrating to see delayed fossil fuel mitigation and phaseout measures being blocked by several large emitters and oil producers,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement.
In line with previous positions, the approved agreement does not contain a reference requested by India and some other delegations for the gradual elimination of “all fossil fuels”.
Rather, it requires countries to take steps towards “progressive reduction of raw coal energy and elimination of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”, as agreed at the Glasgow COP26 summit.
“Too many parties are not ready to make more progress today in the fight against the climate crisis,” said EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans, describing the deal as “an insufficient step for people and the planet”.
The text also includes a reference to “low emission energy”, raising concern among some that it could open the door to the growth in the use of natural gas – a fossil fuel that leads to emissions of carbon dioxide and methane.
“It doesn’t break with Glasgow completely, but it doesn’t raise the ambition by any means,” Norway’s climate minister, Espen Barth Eide, told reporters.
Small island countries, facing climate-driven sea-level rise, have pushed for a loss-and-damage deal but lamented a lack of ambition in limiting emissions.
“I recognize the progress we made at COP27” in terms of establishing the fund, Maldives climate minister Aminath Shauna told the plenary. But we failed in mitigation… We have to make sure we increase the ambition to reach peak emissions by 2025. We have to phase out fossil fuel.”
The Marshall Islands envoy said she was “tired” but happy with the fund’s approval.
“So many people during this week told us we couldn’t make it. So I’m glad they were wrong,” said Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner. Still, “I wish we had achieved the phasing out of fossil fuels. The current text is not enough”.
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