Did COP27 fail or succeed?

After more than two weeks of hard talks among the parties of the 2022 UN Climate Convention Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, the parties have agreed to establish a fund for the loss-and-damage financial pledges for adaptation programs in developing countries affected by climate change, besides keeping the 1.5-degree pledge “intact”. 

Climate change voices had mixed feelings about COP27, viewing that it achieved an important breakthrough by establishing the loss and damage fund, but concerned that this is not enough, while others see that it failed to deal with the root of the climate change crisis, namely phasing out greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

The long-awaited deal was struck after more than three decades of calls from the developing countries for reparations from the developed countries over the loss and damages caused by climate change impacts as a result of the rich countries’ industrial revolutions.

Besides the establishment of the new fund focused on responding and addressing loss and damage, the parties also established a transitional committee that will be tasked with arranging the structure and the fund’s governance, in addition to “identifying and expanding sources of funding; and ensuring coordination and complementarity with existing funding arrangements,” according to the final decisions issued by the COP27 Presidency and the parties of the UNFCCC on Sunday.

The new committee will implement its tasks over the upcoming weeks and months, announced UN High-Level Climate Champion for Egypt Mahmoud Mohieldin on his Twitter account on Monday.

COP27 President Sameh Shoukry announced on Sunday that the parties agreed on establishing the long-awaited loss and damage fund, describing it as “historic”, adding, “On African soil, the voice of the acutely affected communities were finally heard.”

“This was not easy. We worked around the clock. Long days and nights. Strained and sometimes tense, but united and working for one aim, one higher purpose, one common goal that we all subscribe to and aspire to achieve. In the end, we delivered,” he added in the closing plenary.

Financial commitments at COP27

During COP27, more financing pledges were given to fund adaptation programs in developing countries. 

The United States announced that it will give $150 million “as a down payment” for adaptation programs in African countries. 

A new insurance system was launched by the G7 to financially aid the most vulnerable countries, the top of which are Ghana, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. A total of €200 million of funding was announced as an initial package.

In addition to this, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark announced that they would provide more than €1 billion for climate adaptation in Africa.

‘Not enough’

The establishment of the fund was also praised by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as a “signal to rebuild broken trust” in a time when the worlds are suffering from armed conflicts, increasing inflation, and the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. 

However, he said the world still has not responded yet to address the climate change crisis, as small islands are still vulnerable to submergence and African countries threatened to be turned into desert.

“A fund for loss and damage is essential – but it’s not an answer if the climate crisis washes a small island state off the map – or turns an entire African country to desert. The world still needs a giant leap on climate ambition,” Guterres said on Twitter on Sunday.

For her part, Dr. Manon Littek, Founding Partner at Green Generation Fund, told Jusoor Post, “First of all, I am very glad that finally an agreement has been successfully reached. Positive outcomes are the consent on the loss and damage fund, a real milestone after 30 years, and the joint commitment to keep the 1.5°C goal. On the other hand, there could have been more done on the phasing out of fossil fuels.”

“We strongly believe that the food system is one of the biggest levers to combat the climate crisis. So we are trying to find solutions like alternative proteins and regenerative agriculture. In the last two years, we have seen food crisis and temperature rising, and we need to fight the hunger crisis,” she added.

‘Failure of phasing out GHG emissions’

The UNFCCC and the COP27 Presidency announced that the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming at 1.5°C was “intact”; however, many observers pointed out the summit’s failure to take a concrete step to phase out the GHG emissions.

“Paris Agreement remains intact – no backsliding or backtracking as commitments reaffirmed and strengthened despite global headwinds,” said the COP27 Presidency in a statement on Sunday.

Writer and environmental activist George Joshua Richard Monbiot sees that the negotiations process is part of the problem concerning the efforts taken to address the climate change impacts. “For 50 years (starting with the Stockholm conference in 1972), they have kept us safely talking. Summit after environmental summit has failed even to begin the action that's needed. At what point do we conclude that the process is part of the problem?” he wondered on his Twitter account. Also, Peter Kalmus, a NASA climate scientist, said that COP27 was a failure.

Meanwhile, Matthias Schmelzer, an economic historian and social theorist at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena in Germany sees that the parties have failed to find solutions regarding GHG emissions since 1979. “In 30 years of UN climate negotiations, eliminating the primary cause of global heating – fossil fuels – has never been mentioned in the decisions, not even in the COP27 in 2022,” he commented.

To sum up, although COP27 managed to collect a sum of money for Africa to adapt to the risks of climate change, the global community is still where it has been regarding climate change, without solving the problem from its roots, making next year’s COP in Dubai even more critical.

Samar Abdelrahman and Nehal Amer contributed to this story