The COP is a landmark event where world leaders unite to work towards a single goal: to limit the effects of climate change. Each country must avoid climate change and find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally, according to the treaty.
The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6 to 18’2022, will build on the outcomes of COP26 to take action on a number of issues critical to addressing the climate emergency, from urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience and adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change, to meeting commitments to finance climate action in developing countries. The summit will bring together world governments, heads of state, ministers and negotiators alongside climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives and CEOs to refocus their efforts on reducing emissions and managing climate change.
How COP 27 is different from COP 26?
With forest fires and droughts raging across Europe as glaciers melt, and a third of Pakistan under water, climate change activists are more than ever trying to make more meaningful progress. The primary objective of COP27 is to operationalize the 2015 Paris Agreement and accelerate climate action to meet its goals. Egypt’s presidency of COP27 as the “All Africa” COP defined the following four key objectives for the summit:
1. Mitigation: All parties, especially those in a position to “lead by example”, are called upon to take “bold and immediate action” to reduce emissions to limit global warming well below 2°C.
2. Adaptation: Ensure that COP27 makes “much-needed progress” towards increasing resilience to climate change and helping the world’s most vulnerable communities.
3. Finance: Make significant progress on climate finance, including providing the promised $100 billion a year in aid to developing countries.
4. Cooperation: Since UN negotiations are based on consensus, reaching an agreement will require “inclusive and active participation of all stakeholders”.
Moreover, it will be the first time that an international conference on climate change is held in an Arab state. The conference is significant as it will mark the halfway point in achieving the goals in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
What are the priorities?
Finance will be key as COP27 is expected to focus on Africa. Helping the world’s poorest continent in the fight against climate change is essential.
During a press conference at the Petersburg Climate Dialogue, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that cooperation would also be a crucial aspect of the conference. The expertise of richer countries will be helpful in helping poorer countries fight environmental disasters, he also added.
Building on last year’s work, COP27 will focus on the following top priorities for climate action:
1. Strengthening and Mainstreaming Resilience: This includes many projects including identifying actions that non-state actors can take to address current and future climate losses, shifting the narrative of climate losses and mainstreaming climate resilience through deepening engagement with resilience stakeholders.
2. Financing climate action: Climate Champions will work on clarifying the overall architecture of green finance to promote alignment and synergy between the mobilization of capital to emerging markets and developing countries.
3. Accelerate immediate climate action: First, by translating pledges into plans and ensuring Race to Zero pledges have clear plans and meaningful actions with progress reports. Second, making tangible progress towards breakthrough outcomes by 2030 through coordinated action across real economy sector value chains.
4. Building credibility and trust in impartial stakeholder action: Across this work, Climate Champions and the Marrakech Partnership are committed to strengthening global campaign leadership and accountability and clarifying monitoring and reporting processes as part of our overall contribution. at the request of the UN Secretary-General’s expert group on Net Zero.
COP27 and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
COP27 comes at a critical time against the backdrop of a global pandemic, high energy prices, the war in Ukraine and major disruptions to food supplies. As the host country of COP27, Egypt finds itself on the world stage as a leading voice, presenting itself as a representative of the Global South – thanks to its complex identity as an Afro-Arab nation and as a gateway to Africa and the Middle East. Cairo sees COP27 as an opportunity to show the country’s global leadership on the climate crisis. As its gas partnership with Europe deepens and Russia’s incursion into Ukraine continues, Egypt will use its COP27 presidency to lobby Europe and the West to strike a balance between climate action and energy security by promoting sustained investment in natural gas overseas, in line with the development goals of the global South.
