COP27: Historic deal to fund climate damages
The UN COP27 climate summit in Egypt, which saw polarised debates on responsibility and accountability among the global North and South, drew praise on Sunday for the landmark decision of creation of a “loss and damage” fund to help developing countries in efforts to avert, minimise and address loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change in the light of continued global warming.
But there was also anger over a failure to push further efforts on cutting emissions to keep alive the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.
Jubilation over the loss and damage fund was countered by stern warnings.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said the UN climate talks had “taken an important step towards justice” with the loss and damage fund, but fallen short in pushing for the urgent carbon-cutting needed to tackle global warming.
A final COP27 statement covering the broad array of the world’s efforts to grapple with a warming planet held the line on the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.
It also included language on renewable energy for the first time, while reiterating previous calls to accelerate “efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”.
Environmental experts said the creation of a loss and damage fund is a significant breakthrough that acknowledges the impact of climate change particularly warming of 1.1 degrees C till now on people’s lives and livelihoods.
One of the main contentions on the Loss and Damage funding issue was that developed countries were pushing to expand the donor base to include high income countries and emerging economies like China and India and wanted to narrow the beneficiaries to only most vulnerable (island nations and least developed countries).
EU had also sought to link the formation of the Loss and Damage facility to mitigation efforts such as peaking global emissions before 2025; reaffirming the call to reduce by 2030 noncarbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions like methane; pushing all parties to urgently increase their efforts to closing the remaining mitigation gap to pathways consistent with 1.5 degrees; accelerating the phase
down of unabated coal power as soon as possible and submit roadmaps towards this aim, HT had reported on November 18. But following overnight negotiations and efforts to find compromise, the issue of source of funding has now been moved to the transitional committee.
EU and UK have been extremely disappointed with the Sharm El Sheikh package.
In a scolding intervention as the talks went into Sunday morning, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the EU was “disappointed” with a lack of ambition on reducing emissions.
“What we have in front of us is not enough of a step forward for people and planet,” he said.
“It doesn’t bring enough added efforts from major emitters to increase and accelerate their emission cuts.”
UN chief Guterres said the COP27 resolution managed to uphold climate justice. “COP27 took place not far from Mount Sinai, a site that is central to many faiths and to the story of Moses, or Musa. It’s fitting. Climate chaos is a crisis of biblical proportions. The signs are everywhere. Instead of a burning bush, we face a burning planet. From the beginning, this conference has been driven by two overriding themes: justice and ambition. Justice for those on the frontlines who did so little to cause the crisis – including the victims of the recent floods in Pakistan that inundated onethird of the country. Ambition to keep the 1.5 degree C limit alive and pull humanity back from the climate cliff. This COP has taken an important step towards justice. I welcome the decision to establish a loss and damage fund and to operationalise it in the coming period,” he said.
India called COP27 as “historic”. “You are presiding over a historic COP where agreement has been secured for loss and damage funding arrangements including setting up a loss and damage fund. The world has waited far too long for this. We congratulate you on your untiring efforts to evolve consensus,” Union environment minister, Bhupender Yadav said while addressing the presidency. “We also welcome the inclusion of transition to sustainable lifestyles and sustainable patterns of consumption and production in our efforts to address climate change in the cover decision,” he added.
“Our proposal on sustainable lifestyles and consumption has been taken on board and on cover decision. It was conceived in India’s Lifestyle For Environment movement. We supported the Loss and Damage facility and suggested that the fund benefit all developing countries. We played a constructive role and the outcome is good,” Yadav said.
“It’s a historical day in Climate change negotiations when it has been acknowledged after thirty years that increasing disasters causing Loss and Damage (both economic and non economic) affecting communities/ countries which are least responsible for it are caused due to historic cumulative emissions. Efforts have begun by creating a Funding arrangement to address such a facility,” Said Kunal Satyarthi, joint secretary, National Disaster Management Authority and India’s lead negotiator on Loss and Damage.
After overnight consultations and negotiations on these matters, when the COP27 president Sameh Shoukry hit the gavel on Loss and Damage fund, the plenary reverberated with loud applause.