Criticism of draft agreement for paving the way for ‘climate hell’

As talks at the COP27 climate summit enter the final phase, government ministers and negotiators from nearly 200 countries are scrambling to build consensus on a range of issues critical to addressing the climate emergency.

United Nations climate agency on Thursday Publish a first draft of 20 pages A final agreement is expected. It is very likely to be rewritten in the coming days as climate envoys in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh seek a comprehensive agreement before Friday’s deadline.

The so-called “paperless” repeats many of the goals of the past year Glasgow Climate Charterincluding pursuing efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 °C And the call to continue efforts to “cut down” coal power unabated.

However, it does not push for a phase-out of all fossil fuels, such as India and the European Union have requested.

The UN newspaper said it “welcomes” the agreement to include “loss and damage“Payments are on the agenda for the first time, but they do not include details of how the loss and damage financing facility will be set up — a divisive and deeply troubling issue that is seen as a The essential question of climate justice.

Environmental activists responded with deep concern to the contents of the paper, which is likely to be markedly different from the final political agreement.

“As climate impacts and injustices accelerate, losing lives, livelihoods, cultures and even entire countries, the latest cover note from the COP27 presidency drives the pedal to the metal on the highway to climate hell,” Yip Sanyu, Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said. He said in the current situation.

He repeats a stark warning From UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this month. Speaking at the start of the two-week COP27 conference, Guterres said humanity is “on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”

“We have come to Sharm El-Sheikh to demand real action to meet and exceed commitments to finance climate and adaptation, to phase out all fossil fuels and for rich countries to pay for losses and damages to the most vulnerable communities within developing countries by approving a Loss and Damages Fund.”

“None of that is on offer in this draft. Climate justice will not be served if this sets a standard for the outcome of COP27.”

rich countries , Although accounting for the bulk of historical greenhouse gas emissionsI have always opposed the establishment of a fund to deal with losses and damages.

It is believed that slow progress in building consensus could lead to the talks continuing through the weekend, although host country Egypt had previously insisted the talks were kept on track – and warned countries that an agreement needed to be reached.

“The future of humanity, without exaggeration, is at stake,” said Wael Aboul Magd, Egypt’s special representative to the COP27 summit. According to Reuters.

“So we can just push and encourage and use all the tools in our toolbox. But at the end of the day, 190 people have to agree to that.”

World leaders took to the podium at COP27 last week Insisting That geopolitical issues, such as the Russian offensive in Ukraine, must not derail urgent and collective climate action.

It comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine threatens to derail the European Union’s decarbonization goals.

In fact, some European governments have been prompted a review of coalone of the dirtiest and most polluting ways to produce energy, after a sustained period of declining Russian gas flows.

Analysis of campaign groups Posted earlier this week More than 600 fossil fuel industry delegates registered to attend COP27 showed, reflecting an increase of more than 25% over last year.

The sharp jump in attendance associated with some of the world’s biggest polluting oil and gas giants at the United Nations climate conference has raised questions about the fossil fuel industry’s ability to shape the debate.

Harjit Singh, head of global political strategy at the Climate Action Network, which includes more than 1,500 civil society groups, told CNBC that meaningful progress at COP27 will not be achieved unless the conference takes measures to address the root causes of the climate emergency and its consequences.

“If you look at losses and damages and fossil fuels, both were not on the agenda and both are the key issues at the heart of everything — one is cause and the other is effect. We never talk about cause and effect in the UNFCCC space,” Singh said. Climate, we talked about something, somewhere in the middle. That’s why we’re not there anymore.

He added, “Now is the time, when people are suffering, to hold the polluters accountable because they are the ones who make the money, yet they are responsible for the climate crisis, the health crisis, and the energy crisis.” “They benefit from every crisis.”