After two weeks of talks, a deal has been made as COP27 concludes.

After two weeks of talks, a deal has been made as COP27 concludes. The UN Climate Summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh resulted in a hard-fought deal to create a fund that addresses the inequality of climate change - the Loss and Damage fund. The fund, fought for by smaller and/or poorer nations, pools funds to help those countries deal with the disproportionate impact of climate disaster that they face. 

European Union nations finally acceded to the demands to create the Loss and Damage fund, with Ursula von de Leyen describing the deal as “a small step towards climate justice.” Historically, Western industrial nations have been the leading contributors to fossil fuel usage and the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, spurring on climate change which has been felt disproportionately in the Global South. It follows that, therefore, those Western nations should reimburse of support vulnerable countries that suffer the most from climate change, yet contribute the least to it. One such example includes Pakistan’s $30bn bill for recent flooding, which devastated much of the country. Over 1,000 people died and over 30 million were displaced. Pakistan contributes less than 1% of global greenhouse gases.

Nearly 200 countries agreed on the fund, but so far there has been no agreement on how much money should be paid in, or the split between the countries contributing, or on what basis. One key provision for the EU countries was to ensure that countries formerly considered developing (under the 1992 UNFCCC, and thus not obliged to contribute), are considered potential donors. This could include China, Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing Gulf states, and Russia. Under the agreement, such countries can contribute voluntarily.

Reactions

The chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, a bloc of vulnerable countries, has celebrated the creation of the fund as “a mission thirty years in the making.” The chair of AOSIS, Molwyn Joseph, said:

“We have literally exhausted all of our efforts here at Cop27 to bring home the climate action commitments our vulnerable people desperately need. Our ministers and negotiators have endured sleepless nights and endless days in an intense series of negotiations, determined to secure the establishment of a loss and damage response fund, keep 1.5C alive, and advance ambition on critical mitigation and adaptation plans. But after the pain comes the progress.

Today, the international community has restored global faith in this critical process that is dedicated to ensuring no one is left behind. The agreements made at Cop27 are a win for our entire world. We have shown those who have felt neglected that we hear you, we see you, and we are giving you the respect and care you deserve. Now we must solidify our ties across territories. We must work even harder to hold firm to the 1.5C warming limit, to operationalize the loss and damage fund, and continue to create a world that is safe, fair, and equitable for all.”

UN Secretary General António Guterres also called the fund an “important step towards justice.” In a tweet on the deal, he said “I welcome the decision to establish a loss and damage fund and to operationalize it in the coming period. Clearly this will not be enough, but it is a much-needed political signal to rebuild broken trust.”

In the final hours of the deal, running 40 hours past the deadline, countries struggled over issues such as the 1.5C temperature fund, the phasing out of fossil fuels and the rights of indigenous people and protecting nature. Whilst the Loss and Damage fund is celebrated, there are still the failures of COP27 to produce meaningful provisions to cut CO2 levels and fossil fuel usage, with oil-producing countries lobbying for the removal of key commitments to this goal. Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, now chief executive of the European Climate Foundation, commented on this: “The influence of the fossil fuel industry was found across the board… This Cop has weakened requirements around countries making new and more ambitious commitments [on cutting emissions]. The text [of the deal] makes no mention of phasing out fossil fuels, and scant reference to the 1.5C target.”

She noted that the host country of the summit, Egypt, allowed its regional allies to sway the final decision, a claim denied by Egypt. Next year’s conference is set to be held in Dubai, UAE, one of the world’s biggest oil exporters. Tubiana said that “The Egyptian presidency produced a text that clearly protects oil and gas petro-states and the fossil fuel industries. This trend cannot continue in the UAE next year.”

(Sources: The Guardian, Reuters, The UN)