COP ‘failed to deliver’

ACTIVISTS who pinned their hopes on COP27 phasing out fossil fuels have been left disappointed after no such commitment was made in the final outcomes text.

This, NGO 350.org says, paves the way for the continued expansion of fossil fuels and increased climate impacts.

According to the organisation, COP27 was heavily influenced by the fossil fuel industry, the Egyptian presidency alongside the US, the EU, China, Gulf countries and Japan.

350.org executive director May Boeve said there was no time left for incremental change, as every fraction of a degree mattered.

“We needed a swift, just and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels, and COP has, yet again, failed to deliver,” she said.

“The breakthroughs on loss and damage are testament to the incredible work of civil society from the most impacted countries, but without a phase out of fossil fuels, we are setting the world on a path for further losses and damage. This is where the COP has failed.

“Ultimately, COP is not the game, it’s the scoreboard. The fight continues. The calls for including fossil fuel phase out have never been louder.”

Ms Boeve said the real progress on this agenda was happening in the real world, as people took to the streets and organised to stop new fossil fuel projects.

“We are not defeated, and we will never be defeated.”

In the final outcomes text, the document referenced the science and findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and reaffirmed the 1.5 degree Celsius target.

350.org also acknowledged the efforts of countries such as Kenya, Fiji, Tuvalu and Chile who showed commitments to a phase out of fossil fuels by becoming allies of the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA).

The NGO also stated that activists from across the world reaffirmed that the climate crisis was a human rights issue and needed representation from indigenous groups, frontline communities, gender and women’s groups, disability networks and human rights activists from across the world.