A lot has been happening at this year’s UN climate change conference (COP27). We've summarised some of the key stories from the past week to keep you informed.
COP27 agreement: first draft released
- On Thursday, the first draft of the final agreement from the COP27 climate summit was released.
- The draft mirrors many of the goals outlined in last year’s agreement, while issues requiring further negotiation are yet to be firmly addressed.
- Notably missing from the text are details for the launching of a loss and damage fund, used to finance countries most impacted by climate change.
- As with last year’s agreement, a phase down of all fossil fuels has been substituted with a phase down of unabated coal power, as requested by India and the EU.
- The Guardian has released a detailed overview of the draft agreement, which you can access here.
EU agrees to loss and damage fund
- Early on Friday morning, the EU announced a proposal to agree to the implementation of a loss and damage fund.
- Speaking on behalf of the EU, European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans explained that there would need to be “clear conditions” attached to any fund and that a broad financial donor base must contribute.
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Brazilian president-elect states “Brazil is back”
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president-elect, has vowed to work towards ending Amazonian deforestation and undoing previous environmental destruction.
- He also told the summit that his administration would crack down hard on illegal gold mining, agricultural expansion, and logging, as well as working to restore climate-critical ecosystems.
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Index ranks countries’ climate change performance
- The annual Climate Change Performance Index was published at COP27 this week. The index tracks the climate protection performance of 59 countries via the categories of GHG emissions, renewable energy, energy use, and climate policy.
- Denmark and Sweden topped the rankings, as with previous years, followed by Chile, Morocco, and India.
- The United Kingdom took 11th place, the United States 52nd, and Australia 55th.
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COP27 leaders concerned about slow negotiations
- COP27 president, Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, has expressed fears regarding the speed of negotiations at the conference.
- He said that while there have been positive and constructive discussions, other discussions have failed to “reflect the need to move collectively to address the gravity and urgency of the climate crisis”.
- Shoukry also urged all countries to go the “extra mile” and “take the necessary steps to reach the much-needed conclusions and agreements”.
- The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has also voiced concerns, pointing to a breakdown in trust between developed and emerging economies.
- Guterres stated; “this is no time for finger pointing. The blame game is a recipe for mutually assured destruction”.
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More from COP27:
Majority of Britons say UK should pay for climate action in poor countries - read more
Australia risks being a ‘state sponsoring greenwashing’ if it relies on carbon offsets, expert warns - read more
Ukraine uses Cop27 to highlight environmental cost of Russia’s war - read more
