Water and just transition make waves at climate summit
For the first time in the history of climate talks, the importance of water is coming to the fore at a high level, says Darko Manakovski, from the Global Water Partnership, who has been attending the UN COP27 climate summit in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt this week.
“There is tremendous momentum for the water and climate agendas to be integrated together. Water is being highlighted to such a degree, and it is a positive sign,” said Manakovski, the partnership’s head of global development.
“The drought and flooding we have seen in the last year everywhere, particularly in Africa, means we need to look more at adaptation and need to invest more in infrastructure.”
Adaptation to change — helping the world’s most vulnerable communities and countries weather the damage caused by global warming — across themes including food and agriculture, water and nature, and adaptation funding, are among the key issues at COP27.
“We are still far from getting water into the negotiating room and the declaration, however, there is a good chance that the cover statement will include a paragraph on water which is a positive first step,” Manakovski said.
“Local action, the way we manage the land, impacts on global hydrological systems and patterns of drought and flood,” he says, noting water security is vital to food security and livelihoods.
The livelihoods of communities affected by the plans for a “just energy transition ”— to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and pursue low-carbon renewable sources of energy while protecting jobs — has been a priority for SA delegates at the summit, from the minister of environmental affairs, forestry and fisheries to activists and lawyers at COP27.
According to minister Barbara Creecy, SA’S just energy transition plan was received well at the summit.
“For the transition to be just, we need an inclusive process where people can meaningfully engage on plans,” said lawyer Brandon Abdinor, from the Centre for Environmental Rights, on the need for procedural justice.
“Often the most vulnerable people, for example, people who live in coal-affected areas in SA or other fossil-fuel affected areas, do not get to be meaningfully consulted,” he said on Friday.
“By meaningful, we don’t mean a high-level delegation coming in or some officials coming in for an hour or two speaking to the people using technical terminology and leaving again, ticking a box to say the people have been consulted.
“The consultation needs to be in-depth ... so people are having a conversation they understand and can put forward their views properly,” said Abdinor. The centre represents communities, including in legal challenges when their environmental rights are threatened.
On a global scale financial packages have been coming through for mitigation (to lower carbon emissions) and the energy transition to renewable energy, said Abdinor.
“There is money in renewable energy for electricity generation, and this kind of thing for contractors and service providers, but we are not seeing that kind of financial assistance coming through for adaptation,” he said.
The UN has appealed for half the climate funding to go to adaptation, but most of it flows towards mitigation, including reducing emissions.
Despite commitments at COP26 last year to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, emissions are rising, scientists revealed in an alarming report on Friday.
The Global Carbon Budget report indicates emissions were set to rise about 1% this year, bringing the world precariously close to catastrophic levels of climate change.
By 2030, global greenhouse gases needed to drop by 43% to meet the internationally agreed target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C to prevent climate disaster.
Responding to the findings, Prof Mark Maslin, professor of climatology, University College London (UCL), noted carbon emissions were “at the highest level ever” and that there was no sign of the large annual cuts needed in emissions to meet the 1.5ºc target.
“There is good news with emissions dropping in China [0.9%] and the EU [0.8%], but these are offset by emission increases in the US [1.5%] and India [6%], with the rest of the world rising by 1.7%,” he said.
“This report sends a clear message to the leaders at COP27 — emissions must come down rapidly now.” —
By meaningful, we don’t mean a high-level delegation coming in or some officials coming in for an hour or two