The COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt ends on November 18th. So far, the announcements mainly concern funds to be released by the United States, Germany and the European Union, and the issue of climate solidarity is struggling to move forward.
Also, there is only one consensus at the moment: the idea that we need to move forward on this issue. Climate justice is on the agenda, but agreeing on the modalities is difficult, according to negotiators and observers.
Rich countries initially excluded the concept of compensation and legal recourse. And they seem to want to take the time to assess and set the framework before considering a financial fund, while vulnerable countries want to do the opposite. “First of all, the best signal we can give on this issue, stresses Alpha Oumar Kaloga, spokesman for the African Group on Climate Solidarity, is that all countries recognize the damage not only in developing countries but also in developed countries, and that we are united set up a fund.”
He believes the modalities can be decided later. “As we already know there will be a response to the convention,” he continues, “this will reassure all communities, especially the most vulnerable: the indebted countries, which have a percentage impact on GDP due to the residual impact of climate change.” .”
On the other issues, things seem to have frozen. There was no improvement in climate ambition, no formation of a grand coalition to build momentum. No real progress on fossil fuel issue, which has been targeted by civil society since the start of COP27.
“We are heard more, but unfortunately the fossil fuel lobbies are also heard much more, regrets Fanny Petitbon, advocacy manager of the NGO Care France. They have a weight in these negotiations.” “Unfortunately, we see that there are still far too many ‘clean’ gas events: like the United Arab Emirates saying their gas and oil is the ‘cleanest’,” she adds.
“We are still in a COP where we are still talking about energies from the past. And unfortunately the lobbyists are still well established here.”
Fanny Petitbon, Advocacy Manager / Care France
at franceinfo
For Clément Sénéchal, climate campaign manager at Greenpeace, lobbyists “are there to pollute discussions, derail negotiations and promote problems instead of solutions”. “’Fossil’ companies should be on the menu, he concludes, and they’re at the table. This is extremely problematic.”
Any new fossil fuel project must be halted today in hopes of meeting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, according to the International Energy Agency.