With the COP27 climate summit in Egypt quickly approaching, delegates from all around the world will come together to establish global goals for addressing the greatest challenge of our time: climate change. This year’s summit will put to the test the international community’s response to the increasing urgency of the crisis.
What is COP27?
The COP also called the “Conference of the Parties,” is the world’s most important annual meeting of 197 nations that have agreed to the terms of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992.
Once a year, the UN climate body brings these world leaders together to assess the level of progress in combatting climate change and establish legally binding obligations for developed nations to cut their emissions.
What went on at COP26?
Last year’s COP26 meeting saw nearly 200 nations and 120 of the world’s most influential leaders agree to return to COP27 to meet the objective of limiting global temperature rise to under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
One of the key outcomes of the meeting was the culmination of the Glasgow Climate Pact that calls on all countries to present stronger national climate action plans – the Nationally Determined Contributions – this year instead of in 2025, which was the original timeline.
At the meeting, it also noted that developed countries should step up support and urgently deliver more resources to help developing countries build resilience and deal with the severe and costly effects of climate change, such as declining crop yields and devastating storms.
Recognising a ‘just transition’ for developing countries?
Egypt, the host country, seeks to accelerate global climate action through emissions reduction, scaled-up adaptation efforts and enhanced flows of appropriate finance. As COP27 gets closer, Egypt is committed to supporting an inclusive, transparent, and party-driven process to ensure timely and adequate action. The Egyptian COP27 Presidency has identified four key goals for COP27 summit:
- Mitigation – To keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, all parties, particularly those in a position to do so and lead by example, should adopt bold and immediate actions to reduce emissions.
- Adaptation – All parties to demonstrate the necessary political will if we are to capture and assess our progress towards enhancing resilience and assisting the most vulnerable communities
- Finance – Make significant progress on existing commitments, such as the promised annual delivery of USD $100 billion to developing countries.
- Collaboration – The UN negotiations are consensus-based, and reaching an agreement will require inclusive and active participation from all stakeholders.
The COP27 conference will be held from November 6 to 18, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. For more information about COP27, please visit https://unfccc.int/.