COP 27 adopts final text on pain, EU and UN “disappointed”

After long and difficult negotiations that went beyond the planned schedule, COP27 concluded on Sunday 20 November Dawn after adopting a much-discussed text on aid for poor countries affected by climate change, but without new ambitions Reduction of greenhouse gases.

After more than two weeks, the UN’s main climate conference wrapped up on schedule by just over a day, making it one of the longest COPs in history. “It wasn’t easy” But “We finally accomplished our mission“, underlined the Egyptian president of the conference, Sameh Shukri.

Disappointing and unexpected deal

A final declaration was finally adopted as a result of several compromises, calling for reductionsfaster» emissions but without new ambition compared to the last COP in Glasgow in 2021.

“We now need to drastically reduce emissions, and this COP does not respond to that.“, lamented UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the end of the climate conference. Subsequently, the European Union told itself “disappointmentThrough an emission contract. France and Germany also expressed regretLack of climate ambition“.

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However, this edition was marked by the adoption of a landmark resolution, described by its promoters as historic, on compensation for climate change damage in already poor countries. This fileLoss and damagePoor countries nearly derailed the conference, subject to a last-minute compromise text that left many questions unanswered but agreed on the principle of creating a specific financial fund.

A difficult target

The text on emissions reductions was also hotly contested, with many countries denouncing what they saw as a step back from the ambitions defined at previous conferences. Especially since it includes the most ambitious objective of the Paris Agreement 1.5°C warming compared to pre-industrial levelsThis is reaffirmed in the final result.

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Current pledges by signatories to the treaty do not make it possible to meet this goal, or to limit a temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era, when humans began using fossil fuels on a massive scale. Responsible for global warming. These commitments, assuming they are fully met, would put the world at best at +2.4°C by the end of the century, and at current emission rates, a catastrophic +2.8°C. However, with warming currently approaching 1.2°C, the dramatic impacts of climate change are already mounting.

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An example of this is the year 2022 with its procession droughts, Mega Lights And A catastrophic floodaffect harvests and infrastructure. Expenses These extreme events also fly by : The World Bank estimates the cost at $30 billion A third of Pakistan was flooded Several weeks and millions of victims.

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Poor countries, often the most exposed but generally least responsible for global warming, have been demanding funding for years.”Loss and damage» They enjoy.

Contradictions and disagreements

The war will not end with the adoption of the Sharm el-Sheikh resolution, as it remains deliberately vague on certain points of contention. Operational details must be defined for adoption at the next COP, which promises new conflicts in the UAE by the end of 2023. Especially on the issue of contributors, developed countries insist on being part of China.

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Another thing that has rocked the COP: emissions reduction ambitions. Many countries felt that the texts proposed by the Egyptian president were a step backwards in the pledges to continue raising the levels made in Glasgow. “This COP has weakened commitments for countries to propose new and more ambitious commitments“, lamented Lawrence Dubiana, architect of the 2015 Paris Agreements.

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Not to mention the question of reducing the use of fossil fuels, a cause of global warming but not mentioned in most climate texts. Coal was quoted in 2021 after heavy exchanges, but in Sharm el-Sheikh “The usual suspectsIn the words of one representative, he opposed it again for oil and gas. The most commonly used country names are Saudi Arabia, Iran or Russia.

However, the growth of renewables has been marked as unprecedented.”Low emissions», an expression commonly used for the nuclear industry.