The 27th UN ‘Conference of the Parties’ on climate has closed its doors for 2022 in Egypt. Headlines focused on ‘loss and damage’ – the funding system to help countries vulnerable to the impact of climate change, and whether just The West should pay in, or countries such as China and Saudi Arabia too. Other debates made an impact; ‘Phasing down’ just coal or all fossil fuels? But the biggest debate was whether enough progress has been made since COP26 in Glasgow.
The Planet is no doubt a bigger host for us all than COP27 and Egypt was but how is it affected? Climate scientists are calling for a maximum of 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures, we are already at 1.2C and on current trajectory are predicted to be 2.4C by 2100.
2015 gave us the Paris Agreement, widely regarded as a big success, then in 2021, Glasgow with its Climate Pact, where most nations agreed to cut their emissions to acceptable levels. Here is a little taste of 2022.
But what did COP27 in Egypt give us?:
195 nations present of 197 countries in the World and 193 member countries of the United Nations.
90 heads of state and representatives. No-shows are Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his premier Li Keqiang, as well as Russia’s Vladimir Putin and his prime minister Mikhail Mishustin. Charles III (who hosted a reception to discuss climate change at Buckingham Palace two days before COP27), Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
36,000 attendees. The largest delegations were: UAE (1,073 participants), Brazil (573) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (459)
1,000s of ideas exchanged, grown
1,000s of useful contacts made.
631 fossil fuel lobbyists with at least 7 gas and oil deals sealed by Egypt.
2 treaties. A Plant Based Treaty and Soil Based Treaty.
1 agreement on Loss and Damage.
1 proposal on a grant-based rather than loan-based approach to climate finance. The ‘Global Shield‘.
1 new web site Climate Trace to show exactly where greenhouse gas emissions are coming from with data from satellites and sensors on land, ships and planes.
1 (at least) journalist removed from proceedings for asking tough questions.
Has COP run out of steam? Not for countries suffering extreme weather events like Vanuatu and Nauru and even for the UK with rising sea levels and temperatures (useful postcode checker here). The awareness, debates, interest, engagement and consensus can’t enact or deliver climate change, and has trouble making it relevant to the ‘man in the street’ – that’s up to us all over the coming months and years.
And that’s where Green Expo 2023 comes in, six months after, with a mission to highlight progress and report actions taken in the UK’s Northwest.