Austria will then be represented in Egypt by Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), who will be the EU’s lead negotiator in the area of ”adaptation” from Monday – one of the four main items on the agenda.
“Adaptation” includes financial assistance to the poorest countries for climate protection measures and adaptation to climate change. The role of rich industrialized countries – responsible for around 80% of global emissions – was hotly debated last year, as these financial aids were expected to reach $100 billion a year since 2020, but that is not the case. . There are also criticisms of the fact that most of the resources already pledged are loans.
“Mitigation”: progress is needed
Finances are also the sticking point when it comes to “loss and damage”, it is about damage that has already occurred, payments must also go here from the main issuers to those who suffer the most from the resulting climate damage, the Global South – with the ongoing UN negotiations are pushing them towards a funding mechanism.
In order to minimize this climate damage as much as possible in the future, it is necessary to move forward in the third priority area, “mitigation”. After COP26 in Glasgow, some states raised their climate protection targets, but with the NDCs (National Climate Protection Targets) that have been made so far, it is still not possible to reach the 2 degrees target or the 1.5 degrees target. Johannes Wahlmüller, Global 2000 climate and energy spokesperson, calculates what would be needed for the APA: “A 45% reduction would be needed by 2030, but current climate protection plans would mean a 10% increase.” The climate plans for COP26 in Glasgow would mean a 13% increase”, so there is progress, but that is very little.
A way out of this must also be found at the climate conference, but, according to the WWF, the situation is still bleak: the draft of a “program of work to reduce emissions” has so far been kept entirely in parentheses, so there is no consensus or a common vision, how emissions can be reduced to the extent necessary by 2030. A “real breakthrough” is therefore needed.
“This is the only way to close the gap between the current false climate protection and the 1.5 degree limit,” demands WWF climate spokesperson Thomas Zehetner. In addition to massive emissions reductions, the global community should finally pay more attention to the central role of nature conservation: “Because intact nature is our best ally against the climate crisis. Technological solutions alone are not enough,” Zehetner said.
Start the “climate protection engine” in Austria
The 27th UN climate conference with participants from around 200 countries began last Sunday. According to official planning, it ends on Friday. “It has to produce more than hot air, because the future of our planet is at stake. The gap between the 1.5 degree target and fair funding should no longer be ignored,” said Jasmin Duregger, climate and energy expert. of Greenpeace in Austria. and observer at the conference in Sharm El-Sheikh on-site about their expectations for the last week.
After COP27, “the climate protection engine” must also be switched on in Austria. “Stopping the climate crisis requires uncompromising compromises,” said Duregger. Important legislative initiatives, such as the Energy Efficiency Act or the Climate Protection Act, are still pending. The environmental organization Greenpeace is also calling for fossil fuels to be phased out, for example through an end to fossil fuel subsidies or a clear ban on fracking across Austria.
Gewessler sees “central forum for global climate protection”
Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) once again emphasized the importance of the event just before leaving for Egypt for the COP27 world climate conference. “The COP is and will remain the central forum for protecting the global climate,” she told the APA Sunday morning at the airport. From Monday, Gewessler will act as the EU’s negotiator in negotiations in the area of “adaptation”, the so-called adjustments to man-made climate change.
These are measures for climate change that have already occurred or are still expected. In general, the issue of climate finance is at the heart of this year’s COP. “But we can’t measure the planet’s adaptive capacity in money alone,” says Gewessler. It is also important to drastically reduce global emissions that lead to global warming: “Otherwise, the crisis will be so catastrophic that many millions of people will no longer be able to adapt,” said the environment minister.