Disappointment
Wording of the final decisons. By
Despite Africa being home to many of the countries vulnerable to the impacts that come from burning fossil fuels, Africa was only mentioned twice in the cover decision text of what was billed as an “African COP”.
While this “African COP” could not achieve a consensus on ending the use of fossil fuels that are the cause of the human-induced climate change that bedevils the continent more than any other, there was a substantial breakthrough in addressing the downstream impacts of those pollutants, which was largely well received.
Important step for climate justice
Negotiators at Sharm el-Sheikh did the nearly impossible, delivering on a 30-yearold goal to establish a financial mechanism to support victims of climate impacts.
previously reported that governments from more than 190 countries agreed to set up a fund dedicated to addressing “loss and damage” in 2023.
Loss and damage, in short, refer to the damage done by human-induced climate change that occurs beyond the adaptive capacity of countries. These countries are usually the poorest and least developed, and have contributed the least to the emissions that have caused the impacts of which they are today the greatest victims.
Alpha Oumar Kaloga, the regional adviser for the Africa Country Programme Division at the Green Climate Fund and lead negotiator for the Africa Group at COP27, called the agreement a “unique moment” and “a win for all citizens of the world”.
Ani Dasgupta, the president and CEO of the World Resources Institute, said: “In a historic breakthrough, wealthy nations have finally agreed to create a fund to aid vulnerable countries that are reeling from devastating climate damages.
“This loss and damage fund will be a lifeline for poor families whose houses are destroyed, farmers whose fields are ruined, and islanders forced from their ancestral homes…”
Dasgupta added: “While progress on loss and damage was encouraging, it is disappointing that the decision mostly copied and pasted language from Glasgow about curbing emissions.”
Away from the main points of contention that soaked up all the attention, there was notable progress and movement elsewhere.
News you may have missed
Carbon Brief, in a deep analysis of the entire conference, notes that for the first time, a “COP cover decision mentioned food, rivers, nature-based solutions, tipping points and the right to a healthy environment”.
In news particularly relevant to South Africans, the Just Energy Transition Partnership model, first launched in 2021 to wean developing countries off their fossil fuel dependency, was emphasised in the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan as one of many “cooperative actions” countries should look to as they seek to reduce their emissions.
“There is reason for hope after governments came together to protect the more than 3.3 billion people living in areas highly vulnerable to climate change,” said
Dasgupta.
“Time is running short, but a livable planet for people and nature is still within our grasp if leaders take bolder action this decisive decade.”