COP27 is the 27th UN climate change conference. What can we expect this year?
What is COP27?
COP stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’ – a meeting of the 198 nations that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Government negotiators meet to set climate change mitigation targets and review progress made towards reducing emissions. The event is also attended by activists, relevant organisations and the media.
Each climate change conference is hosted by a different government. The first gathering – COP1 – was held in Berlin in 1995. COP27 is the 27th meeting.
When and where is COP27?
COP27 is scheduled to take place from 6 to 18 November 2022, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
COP27 was supposed to be in November 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the event back a year.
What’s on the COP27 agenda?
The strapline for this year’s COP is ‘Together for Implementation’. These are some of the issues on the table.
1. Climate change mitigation
By the end of last year’s COP26, in the Scottish city of Glasgow, the progress made was enough to limit global warming to just under 2ºC – but that’s still short of the ideal goal of 1.5ºC, as per the Paris Agreement. The aim to move entirely away from coal power was not met, which is one of the key things that needs to happen to keep the 1.5ºC target in our sights.
Countries were asked to submit their new nationally determined contributions (NDCs) towards mitigating climate change before COP27.
2. Adaptation to climate change
After a year of devastating floods, droughts and fires, COP27 is expected to have a much greater focus on adapting to climate change. It’s hoped that African issues will be front and centre, given the event’s location.
3. Financial support
Developing countries are expected to push for more financial support from wealthier countries to help mitigate and adapt to climate change. Developed countries were supposed to deliver US$100 billion every year from 2020 to 2025, but that target hasn’t been met.
‘Loss and damage’ is likely to be on the agenda for COP27 and addresses the destructive impacts of climate change – developing countries will be asking for more financial assistance to deal with this, since they’ve typically contributed so little to the climate crisis yet bear so much of the burden.
What’s changed since COP26?
A lot. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has hit climate change mitigation efforts, as some countries now face a shortage of oil and gas, leading to more fossil fuel developments and less of the promised decarbonising. Relationships between Russia and the West are particularly bad right now.
There’s also tension between the US and China over Taiwan, which may impact negotiations.
Host country concerns
Individuals and organisations have raised concerns about the host country, Egypt, specifically about freedom of speech, LGBTQ+ rights and women’s rights.
Imprisoned Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah wrote, “Of all the countries to host they chose the one banning protest and sending everyone to prison, which tells me how the world is handling this issue. They’re not interested in finding a joint solution for the climate.”
Stay tuned…
We’ll post the key takeaways from COP27 in November.
What do you want to see from COP27? Tell us in the comments.
Sources
Chatham House, What is COP27?
COP27
Council on Foreign Relations, What COP26 Did and Didn’t Accomplish
United Nations Climate Change, Conference of the Parties (COP)
United Nations Climate Change, COP 27 Sessions
World Food Programme, Climate crisis: COP27 and other things to watch in 2022
