The year 2022 illustrated the multiplication of disasters linked to climate change – floods, droughts affecting crops or mega-fires.
And the annual UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, aims to raise the commitments of some 200 participating countries to limit this scourge.
But faced with these disasters, the countries of the South, very exposed to the impacts but often not very responsible for greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, are demanding an agreement in principle from COP27 on the creation of a dedicated fund dedicated to such “loss and damage”.
Those in the North, who were very reluctant, had finally accepted that climate damage should officially appear on the COP27 agenda. But insisted on an additional period of discussions before any decision.
The European Union finally made an overture late Thursday, proposing in plenary to “establish a loss and damage response fund”. While insisting that COP27 also make strong commitments on reducing emissions.
This fund should be financed by “a broad base of donors”, insisted the Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans. A keyword to designate countries with substantial financial means, including China, an ally of developing countries on this issue.
This fund would also be only one element of a “mosaic” of financing to be developed. And only “very vulnerable” countries could benefit from it.
Pakistani representative Nabil Munir, who chairs the powerful G77 China negotiating group (more than 130 developing countries), called the European offer “positive news”. However, he felt that “many differences remain”.
– Pointing –
“Delaying climate justice would be justice denied,” Pakistani Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman insisted earlier on Thursday. “We want at the bare minimum a political statement of intent.”
A draft resolution with different options, including one quite similar to the European proposal, was released late Thursday for discussion.
Returning Thursday afternoon from the G20 summit in Bali, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on the parties to overcome their differences and stop “pointing fingers”.
All these financial discussions are indeed taking place in a context of great mistrust, the rich countries having never kept a commitment of 2009 to increase to 100 billion dollars per year the financing intended for the developing countries for the adaptation to the disruption climate change and reducing emissions.
– Climate clock –
“The most effective way to rebuild trust is to find an ambitious and credible agreement on loss and damage and financial support for developing countries,” Guterres insisted.
Negotiations are also slipping on other important issues, including the further reduction of emissions responsible for global warming.
New draft resolution texts were to be published overnight or Friday morning and the negotiations could continue beyond the scheduled end of the COP, late Friday afternoon.
The fate reserved for the mention of fossil fuels, the reduction of emissions and the reaffirmation of the objectives of the Paris agreement will be scrutinized.
A cornerstone of the fight against climate change, this 2015 agreement aims to limit global warming “well below 2°C” compared to the pre-industrial era, and if possible to 1.5°C .
But the current commitments of the various countries are far from allowing this objective to be met. According to UN analyses, they make it possible at best to limit global warming to 2.4°C by the end of the century.
“The climate clock is ticking” hammered Mr. Guterres at the start of the last marathon of very political negotiations.