COP27 pledge may repel West’s bid to skirt blame
SHARM EL SHEIKH: The first draft of a deal being hashed out at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt appeared to repel efforts by developed nations to shift some of their onus of action and funding to developing countries like India and China, setting up what appeared to be a difficult dash for consensus before a Friday deadline.
Released as a “non-paper”, or an unofficial draft, by Egypt’s COP27 president, the 20-page text retains the distinction between rich and poor nations, and highlights the Paris Agreement principles of “equity” and “common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR)”, which relates to the fundamental understanding that countries will act as per their national circumstances and respective capabilities.
“We are at crunch time in the negotiations. COP27 is scheduled to close in 24 hours — and the parties remain divided on a number of significant issues,” said UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.
“There is clearly a breakdown in trust between North and South, and between developed and emerging economies. This is no time for finger pointing. The blame game is a recipe for mutually assured destruction. I am here to appeal to all parties to rise to this moment and to the greatest challenge facing humanity. The world is watching and has a simple message: stand and deliver,” he added.
Negotiators were spending
the time till deadline to pore over every word of the text, which will lay down the shape of the global consensus on how to fight the climate crisis. The early draft, an observer from India said, was encouraging for developing countries.
“It is an extensive cover text that reflects the concerns of developing countries. It has highlighted the real gap in delivery of climate finance, it talks of the depleting carbon budget and the need for developed countries to attain net-negative emissions by 2030, it refers to India’s call on sustainable lifestyles and consumption, and, most importantly, it doesn’t rephrase the Paris Agreement goal which developed countries were trying to push for,” said this person, asking not to be named.
But, India’s proposal to not selectively single out sources of emissions among fossil fuels for action was not a part of the text. India and several other developing nations that rely on coal for energy pushed for requiring all fossil fuels to be phased down, a phrasing that would have included more expensive oil and gas that richer countries largely rely on.