The representatives of the delegations participating in the climate conference in Egypt “COP 27” approved the establishment of a fund to compensate for “losses and damages” suffered by developing countries due to climate change.
This came after two weeks of tough negotiations that passed the deadline for the conference to close, as negotiators worked through Saturday night to finalize the final text of the deal.
The deal was welcomed by delegations, exhausted from working on the deal, and the head of the summit, Sameh Shoukry, told those in the room that the world was following the negotiations, and Shoukry urged the participating delegations to adopt the agreement.
Under the agreement, a fund will be set up for the world’s most vulnerable regions, although there are no funds yet. But the conference raised no ambitions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the main cause of climate change.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the deal as a “necessary political signal” but warned it was “clearly not enough”.
Scientists warn that if no action is taken, global warming will lead to devastating heat waves, rising sea levels and the loss of some species of flora and fauna.
“The final deal was not a step forward enough,” said EU climate chief Frans Timmermans.
The European official criticized efforts by some countries to limit the rise in temperatures, saying: “The deal does not impose sufficient efforts on major emitters to scale up and accelerate their emission reductions.”
image copyright Getty Images
Young activists had an active presence on the sidelines of the conference
Wealthier countries, such as Britain and the European Union, have set more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is seen as progress on last year.
The United States, Great Britain, the European Union and Switzerland have reopened the debate and there is disagreement on whether to include stronger commitments to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
BBC climate editor Justin Rowlatt had quoted a source close to the negotiating team representing 134 developing countries plus China before the deal was reached as saying Britain, the US, the European Union and Switzerland had reopened the discussion of loss and damage .
That has been the main disagreement in these talks, Rolatt says, but there was an open discussion this afternoon about whether or not there was a deal.
He adds: It will represent historic progress in the UN climate talks, which is a huge step forward for an issue that has not been addressed in 30 years of these talks.
Many of the representatives of the small and weak states that accepted this agreement, including the chief negotiator for Africa, Alpha Kaluga, have already left the conference.
Last year at COP26 in Glasgow, countries agreed to “phase down” their coal use.
The burning of fossil fuels is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change.
However, a report from the Carbon Brief website, which specializes in tracking climate change issues, says Russia and Saudi Arabia are blocking this proposal.
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries agreed to aim to keep temperature rise “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and reach a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
That’s because scientists say exceeding that level would expose millions of more people to potentially devastating climate impacts.
But if countries continue with current policies, we are on track for warming of around 2.6-2.9°C, according to the Climate Action Tracker website.
image copyright Getty Images
The talks continued 30 hours after the scheduled closure
Countries are required to make commitments on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions they will reduce. Climate Action Tracker says current pledges lead us to around 2.4C warming.
Climate Action Tracker estimates that we will still see 1.8°C warming by 2100.
If the outlook looks bleak, it’s worth noting that when the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, we were on track for a 3.6°C rise in temperatures, so progress has been made.
Some observers believe the battle will not end with the fund being approved at the Sharm el-Sheikh climate conference, as the decision deliberately left out some controversial points. The practical details of this fund will be defined later, with a view to their approval at the next Conference of the Parties at the end of 2023 in the UAE.
