The UN climate conference (COP27) approved this Sunday the creation of a loss and damage fund for countries “particularly vulnerable” to climate change, a historic demand from the poorest nations.
At the end of a troubled negotiation, which lasted more than 24 hours, the delegations also agreed to work towards a “rapid, deep and sustainable” reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to “continue with efforts to limit the increase of the temperature (of the planet) to 1.5ºC”.
But the final declaration was criticized as unambitious by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the European Union (EU).
The nearly 200 members of COP27 had to negotiate until the early hours of Sunday to reach a final text agreement, which generated mixed reactions.
This was the end of a troubled climate conference, under the baton of an Egyptian presidency that was criticized by the EU and other participants for the alleged opacity of the process.
Despite the atmosphere of satisfaction in the plenary area, some delegates could not resist and fell asleep in their chairs, while the session was interrupted and resumed several times for the final negotiation.
– Transition Committee –
The idea of a loss and damage fund began to be negotiated three decades ago, when the most vulnerable countries began to demand compensation for climate change, for which they were not historically responsible.
“The agreements reached at COP27 are a triumph for the whole world. We show those who thought they were undervalued that we hear them, we see them and we respect them,” says a statement from the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
The fund, which will not be operational immediately, will provide “predictable and adequate funding for especially vulnerable developing countries”, according to the text.
A transition committee made up of 24 countries, including three from Latin America and the Caribbean, will elaborate for a year the details on the operation and funding of the initiative, with the aim of obtaining approval at COP28, at the end of 2023, one year earlier. the time frame provided so far.
Financing will basically fall on rich countries, those that have contributed the most to global warming.
But one of the lines of work established this Sunday foresees “expanding the sources of financing”, which would leave the window open for the participation of countries like China, a demand expressed by the European Union and Canada, among others.
The Chinese representative, Xie Zhenhua, warned that participation by developing countries in the fund should be “voluntary”.
The COP27 agreement also invites the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to come up with “financing solutions”.
Calculating the direct and indirect impact of climate change is very difficult and some amounts are astronomical.
According to the Grantham Institute, damages could range between $290 billion and $580 billion a year by 2030.
– More negotiations –
The COP27 final declaration also mentions the current world energy crisis, which was addressed during the two weeks of the COP, and emphasizes “the importance of reinforcing a combination of clean (sources of) energy”, without forgetting “the national circumstances” of each country.
Despite the long negotiations, the text does not specifically mention the need to abandon fossil fuels, as the EU and several countries wanted.
“Our planet is still in the emergency room. We need to drastically reduce emissions now and this is an issue this COP has not tackled,” said Guterres.
“What we have before us is not enough. It does not present the additional efforts needed for major emitters to step up and accelerate their emissions cuts,” said European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans.
Another point under debate in Sharm el Sheikh was the future of long-term financing for adapting to climate change and mitigating the emission of greenhouse gases.
In 2009, developed countries pledged that starting in 2020 they would release USD 100 billion a year to help poor countries adapt to climate change and reduce their emissions, and at the same time start the energy transition.
And the value of 100 billion dollars, which was not reached, should be increased, in principle, from 2025.
COP27 opted to postpone the decision on the issue to the climate conference scheduled for November 2024.
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