Climate Justice, Greenhouse Gas Emissions… What to Remember from the Sharm El-Sheikh Agreement

It became a habit. COPs, these annual gatherings of the international community to combat global warming, rarely end on schedule: the 2006 edition, in Nairobi, was the last. Should have finished on a Friday. COP27, which closed at 3am on Sunday 20 November, is no exception to the rule that ensures climate negotiations are tightened. Here are the key points that were recorded (or not) at this summit.

>> Follow the reaction live after the agreement reached at COP27

Historical progress of losses and damages

Losses and damages, i.e. claimed from rich countries – the main responsible for global warming – by poor countries – the main victims of climate change – are the central subject of this COP27. For the first time, they were officially put on the agenda for two weeks of talks and rich countries, primarily the European Union, made proposals on the matter.

The option retained in the final notification is the principle of creating a fund, the exact function of which will be determined by the next COP. Fanny Petitbon, Advocacy Manager of the Care France association, salutes franceinfo. “Rich Countries Return”It ends “Decades of Closure”too “The details are still to be determined.”. “V.SThe decision demonstrates that the appeal of vulnerable communities has finally been heard and above all that polluters must answer for their actions and pay. This is truly a giant step towards greater climate justice.”She congratulates.

“We have been fighting for 30 years and today in Sharm el-Sheikh this epic has its first positive result.Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change and Chair of the powerful G77+China negotiating team. Establishing a fund is not about charity. It’s a down payment on a long-term investment in our shared future and an investment in climate justice.”

No progress on fossil fuels

Coal, oil and gas are at the heart of the climate issue. These fossil fuels account for 80% of the world’s energy consumption and are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, the engine of global warming caused by human activities. This material is always very sensitive: cHe recalled Researcher Stephen AygoodThe words “fossil fuels” were removed from the Paris Agreement under pressure from Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer.

The final resolution of COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 is the first text of its kind to address it. “Accelerate efforts Gradual reduction of coal power, without capture system [de CO2] and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”. In Sharm el-Sheikh, India offered to mention oil and gas, which are still widely used in developed countries, along with coal, as a major source of energy in developing countries. This attempt failed. The text of COP27 repeats word for word the formula chosen at Scottish COP26.

The 1.5°C target is maintained

The more ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement, signed at COP21 in 2015, to limit global warming to +1.5°C is increasingly weakening as the thermometer rises. “Under the scenarios we estimate, greenhouse gas emissions would have to peak before 2025 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientists warned in April.

During COP27, there were rumors that some oil producing countries wanted to reconsider this objective. On Saturday morning, the European Union expressed its concern over the matter, threatening to slam the door. “To disagree is better than a bad deal”Launched by Franz Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission.

In the end, this figure was included in the final announcement, but no new ways to strengthen the credibility of this commitment were mentioned. Countries not on this track are slowly being called upon to improve their greenhouse gas reduction targets by the end of 2023. Currently, the UN has warned that the policies being adopted are leading us straight to +2.8 degrees Celsius of warming. A few days before the opening of the COP. European Union said “disappointment”.

“What we have here is too little of a step forward for the people of the planet. It does not provide enough additional effort from major emitters to increase and accelerate their emissions reductions.”said Franz Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission. “We need to drastically reduce emissions now – this is not what this COP is responding to”UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed regret.