From November 6 to 18, 2022, the COP27, or United Nations Conference on Climate Change was held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el Sheikh. This Conference of the Parties (for its acronym in English) has been taking place since 1995 and summons more than 200 participants. These include countries, regional organizations, and non-state actors. The purpose of these meetings is to expose situations, propose solutions and reach consensus agreements on how to address the problem of global climate change.
Find out here the five key conclusions of this summit that establish the priorities of the parties in terms of their climate agenda during 2023.
Creation of the fund to repair losses and damages, an achievement of COP27
Without a doubt, this decision marks a milestone in these conferences. For the first time, developed countries recognized the need to establish a fund to finance the losses suffered by vulnerable countries due to natural catastrophes. Understanding that a large part of situations such as drought and floods have their origin in climate change.
It is still pending to define issues such as who should make contributions to the fund and which countries will be beneficiaries of this financing. In addition, it is also necessary to determine where the financial resources for this initiative will come from. For this purpose, a transition committee will make recommendations on how to implement said financing agreements and how to dispose of funds. Such approaches will be discussed and approved at COP28 to be held this year 2023. Probably, the aforementioned committee will have its first meeting next March.
In the opinion of Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change (UNFCCC), this result of the COP27 is historic since, after decades of discussions, the route to follow to finance the losses and damages in the communities whose lives and livelihoods are ruined by the impact of climate change.
Likewise, the parties established the necessary institutional agreements to activate the Red de Santiago for cases of loss and damage. The purpose of this mechanism is to channel technical assistance to developing countries most likely to suffer the effects of climate change.
Keep the global temperature rise limit at 1.5°C
To prevent global warming from exceeding 1.5°C, it is essential that global greenhouse gas emissions peak before 2025. In parallel, these emissions must decrease by 43% before 2030. That is! We only have seven years left! However, maintaining this limit is difficult. The UNFCCC warns that the fulfillment of the current commitments of the States will lead the world to a warming of 2.5°C in 2100.
During COP27, the countries ratified their commitment to keeping the global temperature increase limit at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. For this purpose, a mitigation work program was created, with the purpose of urgently expanding the mitigation objectives and their application. This work program began immediately and will continue until 2026. That year it will be the subject of a review to consider its extension.
Also, at COP27, governments were asked to review and strengthen the targets for the year 2030 in their local climate plans. Added to this is the demand to expedite the gradual substitution of coal as an energy source and gradually eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels.
Companies and institutions must assume their responsibilities, according to COP27
This new stage of application of climate policies requires that all sectors, companies, and institutions be accountable for compliance with the commitments made.
Following COP27, the priority of the UNFCCC in 2023 will be to demand transparency from institutions and companies. The organization’s Secretary General himself asked UN Climate Change to present a plan to ensure transparency and accountability with non-state agents. This document should be ready at the beginning of this year.
It should be noted that the UNFCCC has a public platform, the Global Climate Action Portal. It is already used to register commitments, publicize transition plans, and monitor annual application reports, although its expansion is essential.
COP27 called for more financial aid for developing countries
Undoubtedly, financing is key to combatting climate change, repairing damage, and applying climate technology, among other actions. In this sense, the fourth conclusion of COP27 consisted in creating an Implementation Plan. Said document estimates that the global transformation towards a decarbonized economy will require investments that can add up to between 4 and 6 trillion dollars a year. To obtain such financing, it is essential to transform the financial system as soon as possible and in its entirety, including its structures and processes. Based on this objective, it is very necessary to have the participation of those involved. Specifically, governments, central banks, and commercial banks; as well as institutional investors and other financial agents.
From this same perspective, another relevant result on the subject of financing was the call to participating developed countries to grant resources to the second replenishment of the Green Climate Fund. The plenary of the conference accepted with satisfaction the pledges of contributions to the Special Fund for Climate Change (more than 35 million dollars). Just as he applauded contributions of more than 211 million and more than 70 million to the Adaptation Fund and the Fund for the Least Developed Countries, respectively.
Turn talk and promises into action
Finally, the climate promises of the conference participants would be worthless if they did not come off paper to materialize. COP21, in France, provided the Paris Agreement. For their part, of Katowice (COP24, 2018) and Glasgow (COP26, 2021) provided the plan. So, the plan was for COP27 to be the “implementation” edition.
Consequently, the set of decisions expressed at the Sharm el Sheikh conference has a precise focus on implementation. Therefore, its purpose is to strengthen the concrete activities of the countries to reduce the emission of GIS gases, as well as to anticipate and adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change. Likewise, promote the materialization of the financial, technological, and training support that developing countries require.
Precisely, the participating countries firmly established that the transition towards a development free of emissions and with a strong resistance to climate change should be “ambitious, fair and equitable”. Finally, the Secretary General of the UNFCCC promised that the body will support the parties and future COP Presidencies in the journey toward the new phase of implementation.
At Intersam we also help to stop climate change
Since 1995, at Intersam we design and develop customized industrial and commercial refrigeration and air conditioning systems. Aware of the need to provide equipment and solutions with low energy consumption and high performance, we incorporate cutting-edge technology and ecological refrigerants into them.
Furthermore, in the manufacture of our air-water, water-air, and air-refrigerant heat exchangers, we control the consumption of resources such as water, oil, and energy. All this is to contribute to the sustainability of the planet. For this reason, at Intersam we identify with the proposals and achievements of COP27.