This Thursday (17), the topic of the day in COP27 was the debate on climate solutions.
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Draft agreement far below expectations
Thursday (17) started off busy at COP27. That's because the UN climate agency published a first draft of what the agreement of this Summit could be.
The text was silent on calls for the gradual reduction of all fossil fuels, meaning the worry-filled meeting may not move beyond the coal-focused goals of last year's Summit.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the negotiations were quick to criticize the Egyptian COP leadership for the new text.
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“This was intended to be a COP for implementation, where governments could show their progress andpromewith new funding, actions and significant climate targets, but this is not what we saw,” said WWF’s Manuel Pulgar-Vidal in a statement.
New versions of the document are expected to be released as countries offer their comments.
Zero carbon public sector
A public sector with emissions of zero carbon by 2050. This is the objective of an agreement signed by 18 countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Australia, and revealed in COP27.
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The planning targets emissions from government use of electricity, cars and other sources. For example, the United States (US) Department of Defense – the country's largest energy consumer – is the world's largest institutional consumer of oil because of the fuel used today in its trucks, tanks, ships and other vehicles.
John Kerry, US climate envoy, said the agreement shows there is a “growing global consensus on the role of governments in the transition” to clean energy.
Floods in Africa
The heavy rains behind recent devastating floods in Africa's Nigeria, Niger and Chad were about 80 times more likely due to the climate crisis, according to a study carried out by an international team of climate scientists as part of the group World Weather Attribution (WWA).
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Hundreds of people were killed, 1,5 million were displaced and more than 500 hectares of agricultural land were damaged.
The discoveries increased pressure on negotiators for the COP27 to provide significant financing to vulnerable countries.
Lula speaks at events with indigenous leaders and civil society
The president-elect participated in events with members of Brazilian civil society and also with representatives of the International Forum of Indigenous Peoples and the Peoples' Forum on Climate Change in a room at the COP27.
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Lula said he will place indigenous rights at the center of his presidency, as it is a scientific fact that they are the best guardians of nature in their territories around the world.
Guterres' return
UN Secretary-General António Guterres returned to Egypt after the G20 meeting.
He defended the adoption of an “ambitious” agreement on losses and damages caused by climate change and called for financial support so that poor countries can face the global warming.
“There is clearly a lack of trust between the North and the South,” Guterres said at a press conference. “The most effective way to rebuild that trust is through an ambitious and credible loss and damage agreement and financial support for developing countries,” he added.
“This is not the time for recriminations. Blaming each other guarantees mutual destruction,” she warned.
“The time for discussing losses, damages and finances is over. We need actions”, insisted Guterres.
Climate action should be priority number 1, survey reveals
Action against the impacts of global warming must be the highest priority of States, ahead of inflation, the energy crisis, or even the Russian nuclear threat – reveals a survey carried out by YouGov in five European countries and the United States published exclusively by France Media Agency (AFP)
More than half of those interviewed – between 1.000 and 2.000 in each country – call for the climate issue to become a “priority”, whatever the global economic situation, compared to just 30% who want it to be “left on hold”, while the other problems are resolved.
With just a full day of official negotiations remaining, there are no clear agreements on key issues, including financing for losses and damages. Let's eagerly await the results of this decisive Friday (18) at COP27.
The United Nations (UN) International Conference on Climate Change – COP27 – began last Sunday (6), in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. COP is the UN's major annual event whose objective is to discuss actions aimed at combating climate change.
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