COP27: Have we committed to our goals?
15-11-2023
COP27: HAVE WE COMMITTED TO OUR GOALS?
In general, the goal of COP27 centered around
adaptive measures to save those that are in danger of the effects of climate
change.
As part of the agreement, a
fund would be established that would provide support to “developing countries”
that have been impacted by climate change and need money to reconstruct social
and physical infrastructure.
However, the anticipated setup
of this fund failed to materialize throughout 2023. Despite negotiations being
ongoing since COP27, they have been slowed down by a lot of disagreements. How
this fund will work is still heavily disputed.
Roadblocks
One issue is who will pay and to whom? The initial concept was that
so-called “developed” countries would be those to put money into this fund, as
these are the main “polluters.” A “developed” country is defined by the
criteria decided in 1992 by the UN. This means that China and Saudi Arabia are
excluded from having to put money into the fund as they are not considered
“developed” countries by the UN. However, this causes dispute as these two
countries are both wealthy and heavy polluters.
Similarly, countries that have
middle income such as Libya and Pakistan are excluded from help from the fund
as they are not “low-income,” even though they are both battling recent climate
change effects.
Another issue that has slowed
down negotiations is establishing the role of multilateral development banks,
as several governments argue that they will require extra help from banks like
the World Bank. There was a development on this front; in an emergency meeting
in Abu Dhabi earlier this week it was decided that the host of the fund for the
upcoming four years would be the World Bank.
This emergency meeting also
managed to set out the primary goals for 2024, in addition to stating that
developing countries should play a key role. However, many countries—including
the US as well as several developing ones—stated discontentment with the
agreement that will be presented to world leaders at the upcoming COP28.
Important gaps remain to be resolved to achieve a functioning fund.
The goals of COP27
In general, the goal of COP27
centered around adaptive measures to save those that are in danger of the
effects of climate change. This includes floods, fires, and other adversities.
It is undeniable now that the world needs to prioritize adaptive procedures to
shield those most in danger of climate change.
Indeed, National Adaption
Plans (NAPs) were at the heart of COP27 discussions; advancing the state’s
efforts to improve adaptive function, resilience, and minimize exposure to
climate change.
Regarding these goals, the
past year has not provided much optimism. In its last report, published earlier
this year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that
vulnerable groups were not given adequate funds to adapt to the effects of
climate change. The IPCC also alerted that, as time goes by, adaptive action
will become inhibited and ineffective.
The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) calculated that $340bn is necessary every year for adaptation,
however, at present, only 7% of all money from climate finance is put towards
that. In addition, there is evidence of certain adaptive measures that have not
worked and have, on the contrary, made vulnerabilities worse.
The Paris Agreement
Furthermore, it was stated in
COP27 that countries should come to COP28 with sturdier plans to meet the goals
of the Paris Agreement on limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5
degrees than they did in 2022. This agreement dates from COP21 in 2015. This
year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has been advocating for five
pillars to keep the possibility of 1.5 degrees alive. These are “standards and
regulation, financial and technical assistance, and market creation.”
Electric vehicles –
a COP27 bellwether
A key way to gauge the goals
of COP27 is to look at the industry that relies the most on fossil fuels:
transportation. GlobalData found that battery electric vehicles are one of the
most effective levers available to policymakers to reduce local emissions from
road transport.
With novel climate policies,
there has been a decrease in global emissions since COP27. The transition to
electric vehicles (EV) was one of the options and has seen some success
throughout 2023. The transition to clean and sustainable energy has increased
in many sectors. In addition to EVs, the global solar capacity has grown more
than twice the amount it did in 2021.
However, despite these
efforts, the IEA says that government policies continue to be incredibly
inadequate in meeting COP pledges. The UN has stated that it is not looking
like the world is on track to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5
degrees
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