Monday 7 November 2022
The Carbon Column – COP27
6th to 18th November. Two very important weeks.
Why?
COP27.
COP is the Conference of the Parties, the main decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is an annual event where global leaders get together review commitments and communications as well as other legal instruments adopted by the Convention.
COP27 is taking place in Sharm-El Sheikh, following on from COP26 which was hosted by the UK in Glasgow in 2021.
Many argue COP26 was a failure. Critics say the pathways to decarbonisation and the pathway to limiting the temperature to 1.5oC were not aligned.
The main outputs from COP26 included the Glasgow Climate Pact and the Paris Rulebook. The Glasgow Climate Pact aims to turn the decade of the 2020s in to one of action. The Paris Rulebook aims to address some of the shortcomings of the original Paris Agreement created at COP21 in 2015. Even with these commitments, researchers found it is practically impossible for us to limit the temperature to 1.5oC, no matter what actions we take. Estimating the world will hit this point around 2035.
That is why we need the next two weeks at COP27 to be serious. Serious about the future of our planet and serious about the people that inhabit it.
COP27
Egypt’s COP will look at four key areas: mitigation, adaptation, finance and collaboration.
Over the next two weeks, there will be sessions which cover biodiversity, energy, water, gender, adaptation, science, youth and others.
For me the red-letter day is Weds, 9th November 2022, that’s all about finance.
This day is imperative to the success of our commitments. It will enable the scale up required to combat the climate issues. It is crucial to ensure there is significant investment available for innovation and implementation of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
In truth, every day is critical at COP27. We need serious progression from COP26.
These next two weeks can shape the future.
If you’re attending COP27 or have ay thoughts on the event, email me and let me know what you think.
