COP-27: Loss and Damage Funding
COP (Conference of the Parties) is a series of United Nations Climate Change Conferences, which have been running since 1995. COP is the name given to the United Nations Climate Change Conferences. The goal of these conferences is to review progress made by members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to limit climate change.
Recent COP27 took place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt…
Climate Change Conference
The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 concluded with a breakthrough agreement to provide “loss and damage” funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters.
COP27 brought together more than 45,000 participants to share ideas, solutions, and build partnerships and coalitions. Indigenous peoples, local communities, cities and civil society, including youth and children, showcased how they are addressing climate change and shared how it impacts their lives.
The United Nation climate Change conference concluded on 20th Nov in Shjarm el-Sheikh,Egypt with a decision to establish and operationalize a fund to compensate vulnerable nations for the ‘Loss and Damage’ from climate change disasters.
According to the agreement, It will be a decades-long conversation on funding for loss and damage – deliberating over the impacts on communities whose lives and livelihoods have been ruined by the very worst impacts of climate change
COP27 reaffirmed commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement also emphasises to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Creating a specific fund for loss and damage marked an important point of progress, with the issue added to the official agenda and adopted for the first time at COP27.
Implementation Plan
The Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, highlights that a global transformation to a low-carbon economy is expected to require investments of at least USD 4-6 trillion a year.
At COP27, deliberations continued on setting a ‘new collective quantified goal on climate finance’ in 2024, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries.
However, Serious concern was expressed that the goal of developed country Parties to mobilize jointly USD 100 billion per year by 2020 has not yet been met.
Past Actions
Adopted in 2015, the Paris Agreement was the culmination of the high hopes of limiting global warming preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels in order to avert devastating climate impacts.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations published a report suggesting that severe climate impacts could be avoided by limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, but the time to act was closing rapidly.
Despite that Carbon concentration has jumped from 399.4 ppm in 2015 to 421 ppm in 2022. An increasing number of experts and activists have started to become vocal about how important it is to safeguard the ecosystem and biodiversity rather than prioritising fossil fuel based economic growth. There’s greater understanding that the earth cannot withstand the exploitation of natural resources any further.
Developing countries will prioritise loss and damage at COP27 adhering to the principle of “polluter pays”. The reparations will be for the losses incurred, primarily to rebuild lives and livelihoods after climate induced disasters.
The paradox is that efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius should go hand in hand. Large emitters haven’t demonstrated great enthusiasm and drive in cutting emissions as rapidly as required, developing countries’ increased focus on loss and damage is likely to dilute the issue further.
Thus, we mustn’t be surprised when emissions don’t fall as needed to avert the climate emergency. As far as paying for loss and damage is concerned, we need to remember that despite their promises, developed countries haven’t committed new and additional funds to developing countries to help them deal with climate change. There’s a good chance that the issue of who pays for climate impacts may once again be recognised but not committed to.
Hope
There’s growing consensus that not much time is left to bring about meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Net zero to halt global warming is still within our grasp if we work swiftly by concentrating our actions around the climate crisis.
It was concluded that world is in a critical decade for climate action. According to the report, implementation of current pledges by national governments put the world on track for a 2.5°C warmer world by the end of the century. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that greenhouse gas emissions must decline 45% by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Let’s hope for the Best….
-Dr Siddhivinayak Barve
Editor, ScienceNow Digital
