Has COP27 left Climate Change with a sinking feeling?
Written by
Dan Coupland & Alice Greville
Graduate Sustainability Consultants
To contact please email:
dan.coupland@mainer.co.uk or alice.greville@mainer.co.uk
COP26 tried to secure global net zero and keep a maximum of 1.5 C degrees of warming within reach. With COP27 finishing last week, was it able to maintain these goals and implement new ones or has climate change ideals sunk beneath the surface?
What is COP and why it is important?
The Conference of the Parties (COP) and is attended by countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994. COP is important because it brings the majority of the world’s nations to discuss climate issues, thus compelling leaders to work together to prevent the global rise of temperatures above 1.5 degrees Celsius.
This yearly event debates about how best to tackle climate change, which invites scrutiny on decisions made in prior COPs, and actions taken by countries to be assessed more regularly to help keep climate change targets become a reality and not just empty pledges.
This article will look at the main takeaways from COP27 and whether last years meeting goals are being upheld.
The key takeaways from COP27
1.5C target is alive but has been weakened
Image Source: www.un.org
If you were expecting COP27 to push hard on slashing greenhouse gas emissions to keep the global target of temperature rise limited to no more than 1.5C, you would have been disappointed. Fundamentally, many nations felt that the failure to include a clause at COP27 to phase out fossil fuel usage, predominately coal and oil, would hamper global efforts to reach this target.
In addition, many African and small island nations expressed concerns that the failure to keep the 1.5C target would result in “annihilation”. Importantly, scientists have warned that 2025 is the peak year as to which climate targets at 1.5C can be achieved, with many countries at this year’s conference pushing for a clause to give the 1.5C target more time to be achieved, however this was not included.
Overall, the discourse surrounding perhaps the most important climate target at this year’s conference has not progressed as much as many nations would have liked. In contrast, at COP26 in Glasgow, this was a major topic that took centre stage but it doesn’t seem to have made as much progress as the world likely needs.
Funding for developing countries for loss and damage
Image Source: www.un.org
Developed nations will have to pay reparations and compensations to less economically developed countries as a result of damages for the use of fossil fuels to stimulate their nations growth and prosperity.
Talks focused on how predominately Western nations and large countries such as Russia and China, have used fossil fuels in recent history at an alarming rate, which is now not only negatively affecting the climate, but damaging the economic and sustainable prosperity of nations on the global south and Africa for example.
The agreement is about providing monetary aid to countries who have been the most affected by climate change and also about richer nations demonstrating their accountability to rebuild trust with smaller nations.
Seen as an historic agreement, 24 countries will now oversee at COP28, in Dubai, where the funding is to be used, but there are question marks surrounding how the money will be sought, and who will develop a system to fairly calculate the reparations individual countries will need to pay over the last 30 years of fossil fuel usage.
Change in attitude to help stimulate developing nations
The COP nations called for changes in attitude and practices towards smaller and developing nations regarding the way that finance is afforded to them. Multilateral development banks (MDBs) and other financial institutions are now expected to make sure that simplified access is given to countries who require climate finance to invest in renewables for example, and to actually ensure that the way in which money is loaned by these institutions, is fit for the purpose for the climate emergency.
In addition, at COP 26, countries agreed to double the money afforded to poorer countries to combat and adapt to climate change. At COP 27 however, it was stated that of the $100Bn pledged, only around $83Bn has been received. Therefore, this was seen as another failure to capitalise on progress made in COP 26, especially when nations like Pakistan who are recovering from a climate emergency, need around $30Bn to alleviate the devastation caused by flooding.
Image Source: www.un.org
Fossil Fuels rear their ugly head
COP 27 failed in its objectives to get a commitment from all parties to phase out all fossil fuels. This failure to include a clause at COP 27 to phase out fossil fuel usage was in no doubt influenced by the presence and power of fossil fuel delegates.
Some 636 fossil fuel delegates were part of country delegations and trade teams, with BBC report stating that at times “The crammed pavilions felt at times like a fossil fuel trade fair”.
There was no committal, by parties, to reduce emissions even though they are the primary cause of the global climate crisis. Instead there was a failure to progress from Glasgow, by simply repeating the call for “accelerating efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”.
What has happened to COP 26 goals?
One of the key takeaways from COP 26 in Glasgow was the 2-degree Celsius temperature goal above pre-industrial levels was no longer sufficient and countries around the world agreed a target of 1.5 degree Celsius by mid-century through NDCs.
This was suggested through methods such as encouraging investing in renewables, limiting deforestation and phasing out the use of coal.
Despite this positive step many people believe this was not enough of a commitment to reach 1.5 degrees, as we need to half emissions by 2030 compared to 2010 levels. This is why it is so important that COP27 helps forward the end goal.
Response to COP27 at the London Build Expo
As her role as a Women in Construction Ambassador, Alice was at the London Build Expo 2022 and noted the responses to the current COP27 were:
1. Commercial KPI’s are the biggest risk, they suggest in the UK and other developed countries that in order to combat this we add the cost of carbon, biodiversity loss into bonuses.
2. Carbon credits don’t cut it.
3. Lack of consistency in the built sector leads to an emission gap.
4. Need to have a balance of the UN sustainable development goals, not just focusing on one area.
She felt the key messages to take from COP27 and head towards COP28 next year in UAE that they:
“Be bold, listen to the younger generation, more action
and put your money where your mouth is.”
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