Solidarity The creation of a specific fund dedicated to climate “losses and damage” in poor countries was one of the major challenges of this COP27
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COP27 will finally end with an agreement. — Peter Dejong/AP/SIPA
White smoke at Sharm el-Sheikh. An agreement has been reached. found Saturday on the issue of climate damage suffered by poor countries, one of the main sticking points in the difficult COP27 negotiations, according to a European source. This announcement gives hope that this 27th international climate conference, which seemed on the verge of failure on Saturday morning, will be saved.
“Better no deal than a bad deal,” Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans in front of the press. “We are worried about some of the things we have seen and heard over the last 12 hours,” “alive” the global warming limit of 1.5°C, the most ambitious objective of the Paris agreement.
The objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C reaffirmed
The Egyptian presidency, criticized for the slowness of the negotiations, ended up publishing a new draft of the long-awaited final text at the beginning of the afternoon. This proposal has yet to be discussed by negotiators from nearly 200 countries gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh for discussions that have already overwhelmed one day. The document reaffirms the objectives of the 2015 Paris agreement, which aims to limit global warming to “well below 2°C” compared to the pre-industrial era, and if possible to 1.5°C.
The text emphasizes that the impacts of climate change would be much less significant at 1.5°C and shows the importance of continuing the “efforts” to meet this limit. Side energy, an end to “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” is asserted but not the output of oil or gas. The objective of a gradual withdrawal of nuclear power plants coal, acquired from Glasgow last year, is reaffirmed, but now with a call for accelerate the development of renewables during this decade.
China and the United States contributing?
This conference, which should have end Friday evening, has long blocked; on the compensation of the damage already caused. caused by climate change, “loss and damage” A text proposal on this issue, one of the thorniest of the discussions for two weeks, had also been submitted. put forward on Saturday by the Egyptian Presidency, with the hope that a consensus can be found.
The document proposes “establishing new funding arrangements to help developing countries” to “Mobilize new and additional resources.” But also, a flagship claim of very exposed poor countries, to “create a fund to respond to losses and damage”, the operation and financing of which will have to be worked out ;s by a “committee; ” by the next COP28 in the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2023.
The ambiguity on the beneficiaries of this fund, a major sticking point of the last few days, has been lifted, indicated; the European source. The list of contributing countries also remains pending. If the EU has accepted the principle of “an expanded base of contributors” neither China, which has grown considerably over the last thirty years, nor the United States have to be their immediate position.