Environment

COP27 kicks off its activities in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh

Around 200 countries will gather in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt for COP27, beginning today, Sunday, to give a new impetus to combating climate change and its ramifications in a world divided and concerned about a variety of other crises. 

With unprecedented floods in Pakistan, heat waves in Europe, hurricanes, wildfires, and drought, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated last week that the fight against climate change “has become a matter of life and death for our security today and our survival tomorrow.” 

He emphasized that the 27th UN Climate Conference (COP27) which begins on Sunday and will last two weeks, “must lay the groundwork for faster and bolder climate action today and over the next decade, which will determine whether the fight for climate will win or lose.” 

Egypt Foreign Minister H.E. Sameh Shoukry was formally elected as the COP27 President by the Parties during the opening plenary, following which he called on countries to show faith in multilateralism over the next two weeks as they negotiate to deliver on the goals of the Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement.

Addressing climate envoys and delegates at what is considered to be one of the largest COPs ever in terms of attendance, COP President HE Sameh Shoukry said: “It comes as no surprise to anyone that the COP is being held this year in a world which is witnessing political turmoil that cast a long shadow on all our nations and has resulted in energy and food crises; however these challenges should be no reason for delaying our collective effort to fight climate change. It is inherent on us all in Sharm El Sheikh to demonstrate our recognition of the magnitude of the challenges we face and our steadfast resolve to overcome it.”

 

Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, plans to urge world leaders gathered at the COP27 summit to “not break the promise” of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

Greenhouse gas emissions should be cut by 45 percent by 2030 in order to limit climate warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the Paris climate agreement’s most ambitious goal. 

However, if the current pledges of the agreement’s signatory countries are followed, they will result in a rise of between 5 and 10%, putting the world on track for a temperature increase of 2.4 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. In comparison to the era when humans began to widely use fossil energy sources such as coal, oil, and gas, which are responsible for warming, this is far from the main goal of the Paris Agreement. 

According to experts, the world is on track to experience a temperature increase of 2.8 degrees Celsius, which is a “catastrophic” level. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, economic crises, and energy and food crises, Guterres regrets that the climate has fallen to second place on the list of priorities. 

In this environment, and despite pledges made at COP26 in Glasgow, only about twenty countries raised their targets, while the UN says there is “no credible path” to limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

Following the start of the COP27 conference in Egypt on Sunday, more than 120 heads of state and government will convene on Monday and Tuesday for a summit that will provide impetus to the two-week negotiations. 

The G20 countries are responsible for 80% of global emissions, but the world’s richest countries are accused of failing to meet their goals and provide aid to developing countries. 

The resentment of the world’s poorest countries, which are not to blame for global warming but are the most vulnerable to its consequences, will be central to the “COP27” conference. 

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