Author: Alice Palmer, Communications and Events Intern

An agreement has been reached between more than 200 countries at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, bringing a marathon negotiation session which ran 40 hours beyond its deadline to a close. Here’s a summary of the key headlines from Egypt.

Loss and damage fund established

After decades of campaigning, a fund for loss and damage was finally established, addressing the long-standing demands of climate-vulnerable nations. This historic achievement will be financed by rich nations, to compensate for irreversible damage resulting from extreme weather events. Zambia’s environment minister, Collins Nzovu, described it as a “very positive result for 1.3 billion Africans.”

However, there is no further information on how much money the fund will receive, who will fund it, and when exactly this financing will happen. 

Fossil fuels triumph (again)

In contrast to the success of the loss and damage fund, the commitment to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees is faltering. 

The final deal did not include commitments to “phase down” or reduce the use of fossil fuels, instead reiterating Glasgow’s agreement to phase down coal.

Laurence Tubiana, chief of the European Climate Foundation and architect of the 2015 Paris Agreement, argued that the agreement was weak in its commitment to cut emissions. “The text [of the deal] makes no mention of phasing out fossil fuels, and scant reference to the 1.5C target,” he said. 

Alok Sharma, the UK’s representative at COP27, shared his disappointment with journalists, criticising the failure of the deal to cut fossil fuels further. “I said in Glasgow that the pulse of 1.5C was weak. Unfortunately, it remains on life support”, he declared.

PM Rishi Sunak echoed this sentiment, albeit in less impassioned language, stating that there was “no time for complacency” and “more must be done.”

Commitments championed by the UK during its presidency, including a target for global emissions to peak by 2025, were not reinforced in strong terms in the final deal.

New commitments

The final agreement text also included “enhancing a clean energy mix, including low-emission and renewable energy.” The use of the term “low-emission” raised concern amongst experts, who are worried that fossil fuels might still be considered as part of the green energy future.

António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, summed up the outcome of COP27 best: “Our planet is still in the emergency room. We need to drastically reduce emissions now – and this is an issue this COP did not address. The world needs a giant leap on climate ambition.”

COP28 will be held by the United Arab Emirates in Dubai next November.