COP27 fails to deliver plan to drastically reduce emissions: UN chief

Antonio Guterres

The COP27 summit has failed to deliver a plan to "drastically reduce emissions", United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on November 20 after the UN published an updated draft of the proposed deal of the climate summit in Egypt on Saturday.

The draft makes no mention of the need to phase down all fossil fuels, one of the key demands this year, and reiterates the Glasgow Pact language on coal.

Negotiators, however, said they have reached a tentative deal on the creation of a fund to pay poorer countries for harm caused by global warming.

A fund to address loss and damage, which refers to destruction caused by climate change-induced disasters, was a long-pending demand of poor and developing countries, including India, and the key element at this year's UN climate summit.The success of the talks hinged on progress on this track.
Developed nations, particularly the US, had opposed this new fund over fears that it would hold them legally liable for massive damages caused by climate change.

The hope at COP27 was to include a "phaseout of all fossil fuels", including oil and gas, as proposed by India and backed by many developed and developing countries including the EU and the US, but the final agreement did not essentially build on what was agreed upon in COP26.

However, when compared to COP26, COP27 has brought in stronger language on renewables and included the just transition principles while bringing up energy transition.

The Sharm-El Sheikh Implementation Plan called upon "parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and adoption of policies, to transition towards low-emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards phase down of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with national circumstances and recognising the need for support towards a just transition."

The plan reaffirmed the Paris Agreement goal of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would "significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change".

The proposal for a loss and damage fund was put forward by the G77 and China (India is part of this group), least developed countries and small island states. Vulnerable countries had said that they would not leave COP27 without a loss and damage finance facility.

(With inputs from agencies)