COP-27 Produces Vague, Nearly Decision-Free Document; Next Year In The UAE Will Be Even Better!
With time running out for countries to agree on a road map for tackling climate change, the fate of U.N. climate talks in Egypt appeared in jeopardy Thursday as rich and poor nations continued to disagree on an array of issues, including compensation for harms caused by a warming world. The divide between these two factions at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, also known as COP27, could be seen in an inconclusive 20-page document released early Thursday morning by the Egyptian COP27 presidency. The document showed no consensus around the key issue of finance, particularly funding for irreversible loss and damage caused by rising temperatures.
Though negotiators by now had hoped to see a draft of the COP27 cover decision — setting clear goals for the meeting and resolving its thorniest debates — the document was more of a grab bag, listing almost every proposal countries have offered in recent days. The word “placeholder” appears in it 14 times. The vague outline underscored the ironic nature of this year’s negotiations: The escalating damage from climate change has deepened divisions between wealthier and developing nations rather than galvanizing more aggressive action. Egypt, the host country, has also struggled to corral the various delegations.
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But it does not include new language proposed by India and generally backed by island nations, the United States and the European Union that would call for a phase-down of all fossil fuels — not just coal but also oil and gas. Nor does it mention an idea floated by the United States that global emissions should peak by 2025, a proposal that would challenge developing countries still trying to secure basic access to heat and electricity for their citizens.
The bullet points on financing loss and damage as well as reforms to help hard-hit countries manage crippling debt — the most contentious issues of the Egypt negotiations — are completely open-ended. The placeholder language offers no clues as to what might emerge from ongoing negotiations.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/11/17/climate-change-cop27-egypt/