The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP27, took place from 6 November until 20 November. The event was held for over two weeks in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. With over 45,000 people in attendance, the conference brought world leaders together to give updates on global climate change goals.
According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we need to lower our emissions by 45% by 2030. As we move closer to our 2030 climate change deadline, this year’s conference was under the spotlight more than ever. Climate activist Greta Thunberg famously skipped this year’s conference labeling it a “greenwashing” event for global leaders. Thunberg, with others like Amnesty International and the Climate Action Network, also signed a petition, calling on the Egyptian government to release political prisoners and open up civic spaces.
We break down some of the key highlights and what happened at COP27.
Table of Contents
COP27 Goals
Each year the COP identifies key goals to work towards. This year’s goal categories were the same as last year’s COP26 and focused on continuing the work started there.
Mitigation: Unite to limit global warming to well below 2c and work hard to keep the 1.5 c target alive.
Adaption: Further capture and assess our progress towards enhancing resilience and assist the most vulnerable communities.
Finance: Deliver the annual USD 100 billion, enhance transparency of finance flows and facilitate access for developing countries.
Collaboration: Advance partnership including introduce new solutions and rapidly upscale all other climate-friendly solutions to implement in developing countries.
COP27 Key Decisions
Mitigation: A mitigation work programme was launched aimed at urgently scaling up mitigation implementation.
Adaption: Governments agreed on the way to move forward on the Global Goal on Adaptation.
Finance: Establish new funding arrangements for net zero emissions goal and establish and operationalize a loss and damage fund.
Collaboration: Launch a package of 25 new collaborative actions in five key areas: power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture.
COP27 Key Decisions Explained
Mitigation
Key Decision
A mitigation work programme was launched aimed at urgently scaling up mitigation implementation.
Background
Globally we need to lower our greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030. We’re trying to get back to pre-industrial emissions levels to help manage the effects of climate change. Even though we’re here thanks to the hyper industrialisation of developed countries over the past century, each country has their part to play today in reducing emissions.
Depending on how economically developed a country is will determine their individual expectations for reduction, called their “nationally determined contribution”. They’re expected to have plans in place to be able to do this and regularly communicate how they’re doing. But developed countries need to take the lead on zero emissions since they’re in a better economic position.
What Does This Decision Mean?
We’re in the last critical decade and dealing with a global energy crisis. The need to move to reliable renewable energy is greater than ever. Governments were asked to revisit their 2030 targets by the end of next year and accelerate the phase-out of coal and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. A work programme, that starts immediately after the conference, was set-up to urgently scale mitigation implementation. Sounds great, but outcomes from the programme are also non-prescriptive, non-punitive and won’t set any new targets or goals.
Adaption
Key Decision
Governments agreed on the way to move forward on the Global Goal on Adaptation.
Background
Adaption focuses on making us less vulnerable to climate change. Like mitigation, each country needs to develop their own adaption plans to meet our global goal. Right now only 40 countries have adaption plans in place. Unfortunately, adaptions plans don’t just appear one day, they need people, resources and expertise to create them. Recognizing that not every country has these resources available, a Green Climate Fund was set-up to help. But developing countries have had issues and delays in getting assess to this fund. And once they do, they’re still also dealing with financial limitations when it comes to actually implementing the plan.
What Does This Decision Mean?
With delays and challenges in getting access to the fund, governments agreed on how to progress the adaption goal. With finances being an issue for rolling out adaption plans, another 230 million USD was added to the Adaption Fund. On top of that, a report is being put together on doubling adaption finance for next year’s COP28.
Finance
Key Decisions
- Establish new funding arrangements for net zero emissions goal
- Establish and operationalize a loss and damage fund
Background
We need to invest at least 4 trillion USD in renewable energy to reach net zero emissions by 2050. We also need 4-6 trillion USD a year to transform to a global low-carbon economy. Developed countries are having a tough time and haven’t yet met their goal of 100 billion USD per year by 2020. To find this money, new funding and a transformation of the financial system is needed. Not to mention, input and help from governments, banks and institutional investors.
What Do These Decisions Mean?
Globally governments decided to establish new funding arrangements and a dedicated loss and damage fund to help developing countries. The loss and damage fund is meant to help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change. As natural disasters increase from climate change, developing countries are dealing with forced displacement that ruins the livelihoods of local communities. These environmental events also cause economic hardship making it hard to reach global sustainable development goals. A “transitional committee” will make recommendations on operationalizing the new funding arrangements and the new loss and damage fund at the COP28.
While UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the decision, he also highlighted that more needs to be done to drastically reduce emissions,
“The world still needs a giant leap on climate ambition…The red line we must not cross is the line that takes our planet over the 1.5 degree temperature limit.”
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General
Collaboration
Key Decision
Under the Breakthrough Agenda, a package of 25 new collaborative actions was launched in five key areas: power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture.
Background
To meet our global climate goals we need to bring together all the key stakeholders and agree on how to tackle the issue. This involves bringing in representatives from countries that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The COP27 gave space this year for governments, businesses and civil society to collaborate on climate solutions including major African-led initiatives. But it doesn’t stop there, countries that represent over 50% of global GDP, including countries from the G7, European Commission, India, Egypt, and Morocco, laid out collaborative “priority actions” to decarbonise five key areas – power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture.
What Does This Decision Mean?
Countries are coming together and prioritizing five key areas in an attempt to drastically lower energy costs, emissions and boost food security globally. Priority actions include
- Power: Setting up at least 50 large scale net-zero emission industrial plants.
- Road Transport: Agreeing on a common target date to get polluting cars and vehicles off the road (looking like between 2035-2040).
- Steel and Hydrogen: Coming up with common definitions for low-emission and near-zero emission steel, hydrogen and sustainable batteries to help with credibility and transparency.
- Agriculture: Investing in agricultural research for solutions on environmental degradation and food insecurity.
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