{"id":87271,"date":"2022-09-13T09:33:41","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T09:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadialogue.net\/?post_type=explainer&p=87271"},"modified":"2023-03-06T15:15:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T15:15:14","slug":"what-is-cop27-this-years-crucial-climate-talks-explained","status":"publish","type":"explainer","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/what-is-cop27-this-years-crucial-climate-talks-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"What is COP27? This year\u2019s crucial climate talks, explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the year between COP27 and the last UN climate change conference, in November 2021, the world has changed. Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine has sent inflation spiralling. Energy, food and supply chain security have shot to the top of the political agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though some governments have used the crisis to step up the pace of efforts to decarbonise and improve energy efficiency, some have focused on finding new fossil fuel sources to increase energy security in the short term. Others, such as Poland<\/a> and some politicians in the UK<\/a>, are wrongly blaming soaring energy costs on measures to tackle climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the two country\u2019s declaration of cooperation at COP26<\/a> in Glasgow, the China\u2013US Climate Working Group has been suspended<\/a>, and bilateral meetings on several issues have been cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the science and impacts of climate change are clearer. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has published new reports on mitigation<\/a> and adaptation<\/a>. They warn that without \u201cimmediate and deep\u201d emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible to constrain average global temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The need to reduce emissions rapidly has never been more apparent. Appropriately, the Egyptian presidency of COP27 has made its strapline \u201cTogether for implementation\u201d. This article considers in detail what to expect from the COP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where and when is COP27?<\/a>
What happened at COP26?
<\/a>What are the Egyptian presidency\u2019s priorities for COP27?
<\/a>What is on the agenda for COP27?<\/a>
What does the latest climate and emissions research say?
<\/a>What is Egypt\u2019s record on climate change action?
<\/a>How does COP27 link to biodiversity COP15?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where and when is COP27?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

COP27 is being held in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh<\/a> from 6 to 18 November 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October, the Democratic Republic of Congo held a pre-COP event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happened at COP26?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The main outcome of the last UN climate COP was the Glasgow Climate Pact<\/a>, which included a commitment to end \u201cinefficient\u201d fossil fuel subsidies and \u201cphase down\u201d coal. Many countries were disappointed by the final text, which was watered down<\/a> in several places, including the wording on coal that had initially stated the fuel would be \u201cphased out\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Glasgow talks also resulted in several multilateral agreements<\/a> between groups of countries. These included commitments to slash methane emissions, stop deforestation and end financing for overseas fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The \u201crulebook\u201d for the 2015 Paris Agreement was finalised, including the contentious issue<\/a> of trading carbon emissions under Article 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the promise of $100 billion every year in climate finance<\/a> from developed nations remained only partially fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was little progress made on adapting to climate change, and none on \u201closs and damage\u201d finance \u2013 to cope with the impacts of climate change that cannot be adapted to, and where losses are permanent, for example, due to sea level rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All nations agreed to submit enhanced emission-cutting pledges ahead of COP27. It has been estimated that existing nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to cutting emissions will lead to a global temperature increase of between 2.4C and 2.7C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, not much progress<\/a> was made earlier this year during talks in Bonn on critical issues ahead of COP27. These talks were held under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) \u2013 the 1994 treaty which gave rise to and oversees climate COPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the Egyptian presidency\u2019s priorities for COP27?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, \u201cTogether for implementation\u201d is the strapline. This implementation needs to happen \u201con time and at scale\u201d, and be \u201cspecific, measurable, and impactful\u201d, according to the \u201cpresidency vision<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key to this is financial assistance for developing countries. Egypt\u2019s minister for international cooperation, Rania Al Mashat, told the Guardian<\/a>: \u201cWe want this COP to be about moving from pledges to implementation. And we want to highlight what are the practical policies and practices, the processes that can actually push the pledges [into action], to bridge that gap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She gave the example of de-risking finance through government guarantees to attract private sector investors. This would help some of the poorest and most vulnerable countries to gain access to finance, which is currently a major barrier<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sameh Shoukry, Egypt\u2019s foreign minister, was appointed COP president in January this year (Image: Mohamed Azakir \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mohamed Maait, the Egyptian finance minister, has stressed<\/a> the need to tackle the debt burden that is facing many developing countries, leaving them unable to invest in climate change mitigation or adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is on the agenda for COP27?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unlike previous COPs, this one is not aiming for a single negotiated outcome but for action at the national level. \u201cThis is no longer just a function of what the global community agrees; it\u2019s how can the global community working together advance national interests and national agendas,\u201d said veteran COP negotiator Jonathan Pershing in an interview<\/a> with Carbon Brief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discussions are likely to be dominated by the finance issue. This has always been a sticking point at COPs but has become even more urgent as the impacts of climate change become more visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not only has the US$100 billion a year from richer nations failed to materialise in full, but it has become clear that the most vulnerable countries are receiving little of what is available. They are also getting further into debt<\/a> as they are forced to spend vast sums on dealing with the impacts of climate change, severely hampering investment in emissions reduction or adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presidency vision<\/a> states that the climate finance issue needs to be addressed \u201cin a manner which creates trust in the process and allays concerns that developing countries will be called upon to contribute to the global effort without commensurate support\u201d, hinting at the challenge at the heart of discussions on this issue in previous talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, an additional finance need for loss and damage has increasingly come to the fore. At COP26, developing nations argued strongly<\/a> that developed countries owe them funding in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, that COP ended with developed countries blocking attempts to provide a financial facility for loss and damage, instead setting up a \u201cdialogue\u201d to allow formal discussions on the topic to continue. The presidency vision<\/a> highlights the need to address loss and damage by \u201cfinding a balanced solution to the funding issue\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A damaged road after heavy rains in the northeastern state of Assam in India, 19 May 2022. Developing countries plan to push hard for additional finance from major polluters at COP27, after a year of extreme weather events. (Image: Anuwar Hazarika \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As with previous COPs, each day of COP27 will be centred around one or two themes<\/a>, and events and announcements will be made accordingly. The themes are: Finance | Science | Youth & future generations | Decarbonisation | Adaptation & agriculture | Gender | Water | Civil society | Energy | Biodiversity | and Solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talks on finance could be made trickier at the COP by the energy and inflation crises hitting many countries. The presidency has acknowledged this in its five targets<\/a>, stating that delivering climate finance to developing countries \u201cneeds a new mindset, updated strategies and policies, especially on the backdrop of current financial crises, debt challenges and increasing interest rates\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also states that countries need to \u201cavoid backsliding on commitments and pledges despite the multiple challenges and crises, in particular [the] energy crisis. We must all show leadership, where pledges and commitments are confirmed and even enhanced… Challenging times create opportunities for a speedy transition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the latest climate and emissions research say?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pressure has been building on world leaders ahead of the talks, with several landmark reports being issued by international organisations in the run-up. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n