COP27: A Chance to act

Egypt was hosting the recent UN climate conference (COP27) in Red Sea resort
of Sharm el-Sheikh from 6 November to 18 November, 2022.

 COP27 is the yearly meeting of the group of 198 countries that have signed
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
 The UNFCCC is a “Rio Convention”, one of two opened for signature at the
“Rio Earth Summit” in 1992.
The first UN climate conference was held in Berlin, Germany, in 1995. At the
historic COP-21 summit held in 2015, member states ratified the Paris Agreement.
The Paris Agreement was a ground-breaking agreement on what countries should
do to combat the effects of climate change.
The prime focus of the Conference, however, was to address the ways of
financing climate change mitigation under article 4 of the Paris Agreement,
a legally binding international treaty of the UN on climate change, and to
acquire adaptation policies under article 7 of the Agreement.
“The world’s first opportunity in the era of implementation of the Paris
Agreement to demonstrate progress”-- Simon Stiell, Chief of UN Climate
Change,
COP27 is “the number one litmus test” of how seriously governments take the
growing climate toll on the most vulnerable countries.
COP-27 is a “do-or-die moment” for global action on climate change. The Earth is
currently unable to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius. And after
last year's natural events, this reality became more evident.
The ongoing economic impact of COVID-19, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the
added impact of climate change in the form of various disasters have created
significant obstacles to international cooperation, including reducing climate-carbon
emissions. In this situation, the Paris Agreement is on the verge of irrelevance.
A successful COP-27 is essential to sustaining the field of international cooperation
in helping developing countries deal with the damage caused by climate change.

The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change – COP27 – builds on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on an
array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency – from urgently reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience, and adapting to the inevitable impacts of
climate change, to delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in
developing countries.

Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentrations, and
increasing extreme weather events, COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries,
to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement, for people and the planet.

 Work together or face "collective suicide": UN chief at COP27

 "Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish"—UN Secretary-
General António Guterres

 "It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact or a Collective Suicide Pact”-

- UN Secretary-General António Guterres

The UN is urging the world’s industrialized nations to ‘lead by example’ by

taking ‘bold and immediate actions’ through COP-27
“A third of Pakistan flooded. Europe’s hottest summer in 500 years. The
Philippines hammered. The whole of Cuba in blackout. And … in the United
States, Hurricane Ian has delivered a brutal reminder that no country and no
economy is immune from the climate crisis.”—World Economic Forum/
UN Secretary-General António Guterres

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, comes at the tail end
of a record-smashing summer for the northern hemisphere.

Punishing early spring heatwaves in South Asia killed hundreds. Many countries
recorded the highest temperatures since records began, more than 120 years ago.

Europeans experienced their hottest summer in 500 years, accompanied by wildfires,

droughts and death.

The Agenda: The key theme of COP27 is implementation of pledges made during
previous COP conferences.

According to the BBC, “COP27 will be most focused on reducing emissions,

adaptation to and preparation for the effects of climate change, and providing
access to technology and funds to nations that will be most affected by those
changes”
They also intend to pick up on topics that weren’t fully addressed at previous
gatherings like establishing a global carbon market, reducing reliance on coal, and
loss and damage financing.

COP27 goals:

As an ‘All of Africa’ COP, the Egyptian COP27 Presidency has defined the summit’s
four key goals as:

 Mitigation: All parties, especially those in a position to “lead by example”,

are urged to take “bold and immediate actions” and to reduce emissions to limit
global warming well below 2°C.

 Adaptation: Ensure that COP27 makes the “crucially needed progress”

towards enhancing climate change resilience and assisting the world’s most
vulnerable communities.

 Finance: Make significant progress on climate finance, including the delivery

of the promised $100 billion per year to assist developing countries.

 Collaboration: As the UN negotiations are consensus-based, reaching

agreement will require “inclusive and active participation from all
stakeholders”.

“We trust the world will come together, yet again, to reaffirm its commitment
to the global climate agenda despite the difficulties and uncertainties of our
time”---Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

'Loss and damage'

The heads of developing nations won a small victory when delegates agreed to
put the controversial issue of compensation for "loss and damage" on the
summit agenda.

Pakistan, which chairs the powerful G77+China negotiating block of more

than 130 developing nations, has made the issue a priority.

The United States and the European Union have dragged their feet for years on
the proposal, fearing it would create an open-ended reparations framework.
  Guterres said COP27 must agree on a "clear, time-bound roadmap" for
loss and damage that delivers "effective institutional arrangements for
financing".

 "Getting concrete results on loss and damage is a litmus test of the

commitment of governments to the success of COP27" UN Secretary-
General António Guterres

Rich nations will also be expected to set a timetable for the delivery of $100
billion per year to help developing countries green their economies and build
resilience against future climate change.

"This COP needs to demonstrate that there is a distinct shift from

negotiations to implementation," UN Climate Change Executive Secretary
Simon Stiell

Conversations About Loss and Damage

"Loss and damage" – is the financial support for developing countries already
being hit by climate-fueled disasters, such as floods or crop-withering drought.

 "Very poor people are losing everything. We don't demand charity,

we demand justice."--- vice chair for implementation at the U.N. climate
agency, UNFCCC.

Small island developing states (SIDS) have been talking about the threats of
climate change clearly and persuasively for at least 30 years, but haven’t been
adequately heard or helped.

These nations are overwhelmingly burdened with the consequences of larger

nations’ actions. When they are hit with those climate consequences, they need funds
to recover from the loss and damage and to build back better.

Honestly addressing loss and damage is a crucial step towards climate justice.
Thanks principally to the relentless advocacy of organizations from SIDS — like our
partners in attendance — loss and damage is set to be a prominent topic during
COP27

 “We can no longer plead ignorance to the consequences of our actions, or

continue to repeat our mistakes,” –US President Mr. Joe Biden
Known as “loss and damage,” it involves asking rich countries like the United States,
the top historic polluting nation, to pay what are essentially reparations for damages
caused to poorer vulnerable nations that do not emit much heat-trapping carbon
dioxide.

 Mr Biden announced in his speech the US would contribute 150 million

dollars “as a down payment” to initiatives to help Africa adapt to the
changing climate.
Bangladesh has been awarded the Local Adaptation Champions

Awards at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt along with three
other countries.
The other three countries to receive the award among 170 countries are India,
Nepal, and Kenya.

The award was given to the Rangamati Hill District Council initiative,
which collaborated with five villages in Juraichhari upazila where the
residents were combatting worsening droughts, landslides, and flash flo ods.

Each winner will receive €15,000 in funds to further the work they are doing
in the spirit of the locally-led adaptation principles.

How important is COP 27?

Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentrations and
increasing extreme weather events, COP 27 seeks renewed solidarity between
countries to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement for people and the earth.
The Paris Agreement is a legally-binding international treaty on climate change. It
was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered
into force on 4 November 2016.
Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius,
compared to pre-industrial levels.
To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of
greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by
mid-century.

The Paris Agreement is dubbed a landmark in the multilateral climate change

process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations into a
common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to
its effects.
Shortcomings of COP27

Failure in strengthening emission commitments

The COP27 agreement failed in the reduction of net carbon emission and fossil
fuel reduction- a key objective to achieve the aspirational goal of limiting the
Global temperature increase to 1.5 Degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
before the year 2030 under article 2.1(a) of the Paris Agreement.

Failure to tackle food insecurity

Food systems came up as an agenda unlike the previous COPs but there was
significant political resistance to fully adopting a systems approach.
Developing food systems and changing agricultural productivity is particularly
important for developing countries like Bangladesh as a part of the Adaptation
policy. Unfortunately, there was absence in the text of any reference to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's estimate that food systems emit
about one-third of the greenhouse gases

Inadequate climate finance for developing countries

The developed countries failed to keep the promise to mobilise $100 Billion a
year by 2020. The establishment of a loss and damage fund was a huge success
but some of the largest emitters including China and India have refused to
contribute to the fund.

Adaptation was given less priority

Adaptation is the single most important policy for developing countries like
Bangladesh with rising sea levels, extreme weather events, changing
agricultural productivity and food system challenges. However, at COP27,
parties decided to define a framework to measure the goal's achievements and
prepare a two-year progress report. The previous call from Glasgow to double
adaptation finance was repeated. But the overall progress was muted in the
implementation stage.

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মনন রোখনে েনে যফো োস হুেহু েোইন েোই েোইন যেখো েোয়নো, য ৌশনে পেনখ আসনে েয়।

 "৫৪পট যিশ যিউপেয়ো েওয়োর িনথ- ০৩ পট োরনে ১। মুদ্রোপিপে (Inflation) ২। জ্বোেোপন

সং ট (energy crisis) ৩। সু িেোর েৃ পি (rising interest rates)--- ইউএনপিপি প্রধোন
Achim Steiner [ ি-২৭ এর আনেোিনো িেো োনে ]

েোপেসংনের যসই ঝুাঁপ িূ েণ যিনশর েোপে োয় িোপ স্তোন থো নেও েোংেোনিশ নোই।

 েোপেসংনের মনে, বেপি েেেোয়ু ঝুপাঁ নে েোংেোনিনশর অেস্থোন ৭ম েনেও সমুদ্রিৃনের

উচ্চেো েৃ পিেপনে ঝুাঁপ নে েোংেোনিনশর অেস্থোন ১ম এেং মিনক্ষ ৩ য োপট মোনু নের েোস্তুিুুে
েেোর সম্ভোেনো রনয়নছ।
 “To implement the National Adaptation Plan prepared by the Bangladesh
government, we need $230 billion till 2030. We hope that international
organisations like the United Nations will help us execute the plan effectively”
--Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister
 “Bangladesh wants climate finance doubled by 2025 to implement the
National Adaptation Plan (NAP)”--- --Environment, Forest and Climate
Change Minister
 Ziaul Haque, Mirza Shawkat Ali >> climate expert and representative from
Bangladesh to COP27, Bangladeshi representative to the conference এনির নোম
ভোঙ্গোননো/ োনে েোগোননো যেনে িোনর।

সু েরোং, পেিন েোাঁিোনে এেোনরর সনেেনপট অেুন্ত গুরুত্বিূ েণ পছনেো োরে প্রপেপনয়ে ঝে,
েনেোচ্ছোস েনুো খরো িোেোননের মনেো প্রো ৃ পে িুনেণোগ এখন বেপি েোস্তেেো সু েরোং পেিন
েোাঁিোনে পেিননেোনির এ নেোনগ োে রনে েনে আর যসই সু নেোগপট প্রপেেোর এনন যিয় ি
সনেেন েোন ‘িৃপথেী রক্ষোর সনেেন’ েেনেও অেুুপি েনেনো।
Engineer’s BCS Care