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WHY IS COP27 IMPORTANT?

Updated: Aug 4, 2022


The COP27, to be held in Egypt from November 6 to 18, seeks to turn climate change pledges into concrete and collaborative actions that effectively respond to global challenges through sustainable solutions that include the participation of the people.


According to the declarations of the last Climate Change Conference, held last June in Bonn, discussions will focus on mitigation, adaptation, financing and collaboration between the parties and civil society with the aim of adopting concrete actions to achieve the agreements reached and guarantee a sustainable future for all.


It is expected that COP27 will promote multisectoral, people-centered initiatives and projects that guarantee full compliance with rights and that are backed by measurable and verifiable scientific results. This scenario represents an opportunity for organizations around the world that have developed innovative solutions to combat and mitigate the effects of climate change, as the parties have agreed to intensify climate action and international support for such initiatives, especially in developing countries.


Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, said during the Climate Conference last June: “The international community has not yet fulfilled its commitment to mobilize $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries. And developing countries are calling for a substantial global increase in climate finance, especially for adaptation and loss and damage, which is crucial to building a more sustainable and resilient future. At COP27, progress needs to be clearly and convincingly demonstrated, along with progress towards an agreed definition of climate finance under the Paris Agreement.


Through the elaboration of a global stocktaking prepared on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) reports, this conference seeks to identify gaps and hotspots for climate action in order to redirect funding and global emphases to ensure compliance with the international agreements made by the parties on climate change, with a special emphasis on adaptation and mitigation.


During the Bonn meeting, Marianne Karlsen, Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), said: “The global stocktaking and other discussions at the Bonn Climate Conference have demonstrated the many gaps in climate action, but also the opportunities. It is encouraging that governments and the many stakeholders have come forward with solutions, opportunities, innovations and best practices from around the world. And we have seen unprecedented engagement from non-Party stakeholders, who have a key role to play in helping governments achieve their climate goals.”


As a prelude to the COP27, two regional Climate Weeks will be held:


  • Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week 2022 (LACCW), which was held from July 18 to 22 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. For more information on this event, please visit our blog post CLIMATE WEEK: A KEY STEP ON THE ROUTE TO COP27.

  • Africa Climate Week 2022, which will take place from August 29 to September 1 in Libreville (Gabon).


ABOUT COP27

Below is a summary of COP27’s mission, objectives and main approaches, which will help organizations strategically focus their participation to achieve their positioning and advocacy objectives.

THE COP27 MISSION

The mission of COP27 in Egypt is to accelerate global climate action through emissions reductions, enhanced adaptation efforts and improved financial flows by prioritizing just transition for developing countries.


This summit seeks strong, inclusive and ambitious outcomes that respond to the principles, challenges and commitments set out from Rio 1992 to Glasgow 2021.


EGYPT GOALS

MITIGATION

According to the results of last year’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) synthesis report, the three reports presented by the IPCC and the conclusions of the UN Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB56), we are still far from reaching the targets set in the Paris Agreement. That is why this COP will seek ambitious agreements for countries to fulfill their pledges and commitments through the implementation of the Glasgow Pact.


THE GLASGOW PACT

The Glasgow Pact for Climate was established at the end of COP26 as an emerging measure in the face of the climate crisis; it was ratified by 200 countries. This agreement includes seven strategic points aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Paris Agreement through actions that will enable the world to move towards a more sustainable, low-carbon future.

  • Recognition of the emergency

  • Stepping up climate action

  • Moving away from fossil fuels

  • Funding for climate action

  • Increased support for adaptation

  • Completion of the rules for implementation of the Paris Agreement

  • Addressing loss and damage

ADAPTATION

The Global Goal on Adaptation was one of the significant outcomes of COP26, so COP27 seeks to make significant progress in this area and will urge all parties to demonstrate the political will necessary to record and assess their progress in improving resilience and helping the most vulnerable communities.


Beyond the global goal on Adaptation, COP27 will present an enhanced global agenda for action on adaptation based on the commitments made in Paris and Glasgow to place adaptation at the forefront of global action.


FINANCE

COP27 will highlight the importance of adequacy and predictability of climate finance with an emphasis on improving mechanisms for transparency of financial flows, especially those dedicated to meeting the needs of developing countries.


COLLABORATION AND EMPHASIS ON PEOPLE


The call of COP27 is to convert the results of Glasgow into concrete actions and begin the process of implementation, which is why the United Nations urges governments, the private sector and civil society to work together to transform the way we interact with our planet and to promote solutions that minimize social impacts, as recent IPCC reports have shown that the climate crisis affects the most vulnerable sectors the most.


According to what was signed in the Glasgow Pact and the Paris Agreement, collaborative solutions will be promoted that contribute to guarantee:

  • Poverty eradication

  • Human rights

  • The right to health

  • The right to development

  • Gender equality and women’s empowerment

  • The rights of indigenous peoples and local communities

  • The rights of migrants

  • The rights of children and adolescents

  • The rights of people with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations

  • Intergenerational equity


SCIENCE AS A CENTRAL AXIS

The main focus of the Climate Change Conference is SCIENCE. That is why this Summit seeks that all contributions and contributions respond to the challenges posed in the reports presented by the IPCC and to the call for urgency on social and environmental impacts through the presentation of results based on real and measurable data.


At the Bonn Climate Conference, the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, argued: “Science has been one of the focal points of this year’s Bonn Climate Change Conference. It is vital that the reports presented by the IPCC, as well as the relation between science and policy, are reflected, and that negotiators heed the call on the urgency of the climate challenge. We have seen some progress in Bonn. But governments need to act with more urgency in the face of the stark warnings we have been hearing.”


Over the past ten months, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published a trilogy of reports containing the latest scientific evidence on climate change. These three reports constitute a warning on the consequences of the lack of concrete and consistent action to combat the climate crisis. The reports confirm that human activities are causing climate change and that human influence is making extreme weather events more frequent and more profound.


According to Hoesung Lee, chairman of the IPCC, the reports point out that human activities have increased the planet’s temperature at an accelerated rate not seen in the last 2,000 years, which is why he claimed: “The next few years will be critical, but there are ways to improve our chances of success,” and added that “international cooperation is key to achieving ambitious climate goals and accelerated and equitable climate action is fundamental to sustainable development.”


Would you like to know more about COP27 and other events and discussions around the environment and climate change?


Don’t miss our content on the #RouteToCOP27






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