While the agreement was hailed as a step towards climate justice, and a major achievement on loss and damage was not even on the agenda at the start of the conference, many reminded that the fund needs to be designed, financed and deployed before it can help countries bearing the brunt of the crisis. stress of the emergency.
The fund is supposed to be launched by 2024.
Its importance is emphasized by the fact that there has been no sensible progress in reducing emissions and in general ambition. World leaders failed to agree on phasing out all fossil fuels instead of just coal, apparently only agreeing at the last minute to strengthen their weak commitment to the 1.5 degree goal.
“If we violate 1.5 [degrees]many small islands no longer exist, and those that do are no longer a place we want to call home,” the Palau representative reminded. concluding plenary session early Sunday.
“Egypt is not a real victory if we cancel our efforts to keep 1.5 degrees alive. For countries like Palau, that means we’ve traded loss and damage—money we wish we didn’t have to ask for—in exchange for our real ability to stay in lands and homes. And we don’t want that hollow victory.”
“We’ve traded losses and damages—money we wish we didn’t have to ask for—in exchange for our actual ability to stay on land and in homes. And we don’t want that hollow victory.”
NGOs representing children and youth expressed frustration at the failure to phase out oil and natural gas and drew attention to the presence of fossil fuel lobbyists at the conference.
“We urge you to give up all use of fossil fuels, even though this decision is not ambitious. Your actions speak louder than your words”, stated YOUNGO, representative of the official children and youth circle of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
“We are also gravely concerned that this outcome was influenced by the presence of over 600 fossil fuel representatives here at Cop27, outnumbering all representatives of global civil society, children and youth. This unfair imbalance cannot be repeated in future polices. We have to have new mechanisms to prevent conflicts of interest.”
Finnish Minister of the Environment Maria Ohisalo (The Greens) expressed their disappointment with the result press releasewarns that the window to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees is closing fast.
“The decisions of the conference do not reflect this urgency,” he stated.
“The climate crisis is progressing, but some countries do not have the will to proceed with accelerated emission reductions. When emissions are not reduced quickly enough, the need for adaptation and the destruction caused by climate change will increase significantly.”
Marjo NummelinThe main delegation of Finland repeated the criticism aimed at the hosts throughout the conference.
“Unfortunately, the work here was not transparent and the views of the parties were taken into account rather selectively. This led to the meeting being prolonged and several key issues being watered down – it was far too late for us to even discuss them,” he stated.
Reports from Sharm el-Sheikh indicate that a lack of transparency sometimes left delegates unsure whether they were having the same conversation with others.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock opined that “total failure” was avoided mostly thanks to a progressive intercontinental alliance, despite “stonewalling and organizational deficiencies”.
“It is more than frustrating to see many major emitters and oil producers hold back on overdue measures to mitigate and phase out fossil energy,” he said. public statement. “The industrialized countries and the countries most affected by the climate crisis were ready [more binding commitments]but a union […] oil-rich countries and high emissions have prevented this.”
Small victories were also achieved at Cop27. The Guardian on Sunday highlighted that the cover decision is the first of its kind, which mentions “food”, “nature-based solutions” and “turning points” and dedicates a section to forests.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page
