The first week of COP27 ends with very conflicting positions among countries

• Civil society “floods” the space for negotiations to demand a mechanism of loss and damage that, despite being a demand of a large part of the international community, still does not materialize.
• The process of global review of country commitments reaches its first conclusion, while the mitigation work plan remains stalled.
• In the interventions of the plenaries, the division between the countries that emit the most greenhouse gases and those that already suffer the consequences of the climate emergency is once again evident.
• Globally, today, Saturday, November 12, civil society will take to the streets to demand climate and energy justice.

COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) is nearing the end of its first week. During these days there have been many statements made by world leaders who have recognized that the planet is already very affected by the climate emergency. However, the discussions seem stuck in the very place they were unable to get out of in Glasgow.

One of the issues most demanded by civil society and that is being most discussed at this Climate Summit is the loss and damage mechanism, which would consist of the creation of a fund for countries of the global South to deal with economic losses (such as land or housing) as well as non-economic losses (cultural losses, of knowledge or biodiversity, among others). The consequences of climate change are already being seen in all parts of the world, from major floods – such as the one in Pakistan this summer – to the severe droughts ravaging the African continent.

In this sense, it is the countries of the global South that have been demanding such funding for years. Ecologists in Action stresses that “to stand in solidarity with the countries that suffer most from climate change is to assume the historical responsibility that the countries of the global North have in the burning of fossil fuels and attend to the reparations of the countries that are suffering the most from the consequences.”

In terms of the timeline for implementing such funds, there are also significant differences between countries. Some, such as the coalition of small islands and states, claim to leave this summit with a roadmap and a defined plan to implement this aid in 2024. But the countries historically most responsible for emissions (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia or the EU) try to delay this implementation.

Instead, they propose to start implementing this mechanism much later, citing the need to delve deeper into the technical discussions that have been blocking for more than 27 years. Ecologists in Action joins civil society organizations, indigenous, gender and youth platforms, as well as the most vulnerable countries in demanding that this funding for loss and damage be sufficient and additional to those already in place for mitigation, adaptation and other global financing commitments such as development cooperation. Work on loss and damage should be reinforced by the obligation to submit reports every two years assessing needs and committed funding.

Civil society in Sharm el-Sheikh has expressed its position on this issue with an action that alluded to the massive floods that countries of the global South have suffered. Their demand includes a financing mechanism that aligns with the principles of rights and climate justice, and that is fast and accessible, with direct payments to climate refugees and affected communities on the front lines.

On the other hand, the countries of the global North have arrived at this COP27 with an unfulfilled promise on adaptation issues: the fund of 100,000 million dollars per year to fulfill their financial commitments to the South. The last summit in Glasgow was the year that was raised the most and even then only 83 billion was reached, an insufficient figure that increases the distrust that the agreed promises will be fulfilled. Therefore, it is essential that the financial agreements are included and detailed in the final decision of COP27. Even so, it has become clear that these commitments meet the criteria of being sufficient to cover the costs of mitigation and adaptation, as well as not being deducted from existing international aid funds.

Throughout this summit, negotiations on this point have progressed very slowly and countries are divided. On the one hand, the countries of the global North are committed to keeping the issue on the agenda, but delaying the conclusions for COP29 (in 2024), through the creation of new working groups, the inclusion of different sources of financing such as multilateral development banks or the opening to private financing. In this line is the announcement of John Kerry – Secretary of State for Climate of the United States – to include within the possible investors private foundations such as Bezos Foundation or Rockefeller. On the other hand, the countries of the global South demand the urgency of financing and argue that it cannot be delayed any longer.

Decarbonization and emission reduction

Friday, November 11, was the day chosen by the Egyptian Presidency at COP27 as Decarbonization Day. However, at the same time there were several events on fossil gas – considered as a transitional fuel by the Egyptian Government – and even events for the gradual abandonment of oil and gas extraction, which showed that the intentions and priorities of the Presidency of this COP27 are not to bet on the exit of fossil fuels.

Regarding the Global Stocktake (GST), it seems that the only progress achieved will be to continue with the negotiations in future calls. Once again Brazil and Saudi Arabia intend to eliminate the commitment to maintain the global target of increasing global temperature by 1.5 ºC by the end of the century and references to fossil fuels.

Ecologists in Action joins the demands to accelerate the GST process and not wait for COP28, as requested by small island states and countries with greater climate ambition. On the contrary, the technical committee has already issued a document of conclusions that postpones to future meetings the approval of measures that could have been decided already at this Climate Summit. It now remains to be seen how next week’s negotiations will unfold by high-level political bodies.

Meanwhile, discussions on the Mitigation Work Programme (MWP) remain stuck. Countries continue to disagree on key issues, such as the usefulness of this work plan, its development or its interrelationship with the objectives of the GST. While the countries producing oil and fossil fuels want to weaken the text and shorten the execution of the plan to only one year, the countries of the global North demand to include urgency, but they also want to open the door to private investments, so as not to assume their historical responsibilities. The positions are so opposed that it is possible that the negotiations will last until Saturday night and even then the text still contains points of intense debate for next week.

Ecologists in Action also worries about the inability of countries to agree on an effective divestment from fossil fuels. Many of the major oil-producing powers are reluctant to address Article 2.1c of the Paris Agreement that establishes the need to shift financial flows from fossil fuels to renewables.

In addition, the pretensions of many countries and lobbying interests are maintaining false solutions such as carbon capture and storage as an option to be incorporated into the mechanisms of Article 6, carbon markets and clean development mechanisms. In this sense, Ecologists in Action once again shows its rejection of these compensation systems and recalls that the only possible way out is through the decarbonization and preservation of ecosystems.

November 12: World March

The resistance of civil society in the face of government inaction continues at COP27, where a solidarity march has been called on November 12 within the negotiating grounds. This call is added to the global day of action convened in various cities to show, once again, the demand of civil society to do everything necessary to face the climate emergency. Ecologists in Action will join the calls of the Spanish State, joining the global call to demand action for climate and energy justice.

Source: Ecologists in Action