Bruna Alves
Research lead covering environment and sustainability
COP 27 - statistics & facts
The 27th edition of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP 27), one of the largest and most important annual events for climate action policy, was marked by landmark agreements but also considerable disappointment. During the annual climate summit, which took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022, more than 30 thousand delegates and over 100 heads of state gathered to negotiate the future steps for global climate targets and action. Climate finance, loss and damage, and global energy security were some of the most-contentious topics during the convention.
One of the great victories for climate finance during COP 27 was the establishment of a loss and damage fund. The term loss and damage within the UNFCCC context refers to the impacts of climate change that have already taken place or cannot be avoided by mitigation. This includes the loss of land, lives, and livelihood, each of which disproportionately affect low-income countries that have made little contribution to historical emissions. While the loss and damage agreement closed in Sharm El Sheikh was a historic decision, the details of the agreement were pushed to be discussed in subsequent climate summits.
The debate of phasing down or phasing out all fossil fuels will continue in future conferences, with pressure building for a final decision on eliminating such sources from the energy grids to be reached as soon as possible.
What is the COP?
The Conference of Parties (COP) is the decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The 1st Conference (COP 1) took place in Berlin, Germany, in 1995. Since then, the annual summit has become the birthplace of significant climate legislation, including the Kyoto Protocol (COP 3), the Copenhagen Accord (COP 15), and the Paris Agreement (COP 21). Signed by over 190 countries, the Paris Agreement reinforced the global commitment to keeping global average temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, with efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. At the time of COP 27, existing policies put the chance of global temperature rise above two degrees at more than 90 percent.Financing climate action
During COP 15 in Copenhagen, developed countries agreed to mobilize 100 billion U.S. dollars each year until 2020 for climate finance, i.e., for helping developing countries pay for climate adaptation and mitigation measures. That target failed to be met. By 2020, climate finance mobilized by developed countries stood at 83 billion U.S. dollars, the highest annual value up until that point. Climate finance has also been heavily criticized for its mechanisms, undertaken mainly through loans, thus further burdening many already-indebted developing nations. At COP 27, the debate continued, but no new climate finance target or financing mechanism reform was agreed upon.One of the great victories for climate finance during COP 27 was the establishment of a loss and damage fund. The term loss and damage within the UNFCCC context refers to the impacts of climate change that have already taken place or cannot be avoided by mitigation. This includes the loss of land, lives, and livelihood, each of which disproportionately affect low-income countries that have made little contribution to historical emissions. While the loss and damage agreement closed in Sharm El Sheikh was a historic decision, the details of the agreement were pushed to be discussed in subsequent climate summits.
Renewables and the path to energy security
With Russia’s war in Ukraine leading natural gas and fuel prices to soar and threatening energy security worldwide, the deployment of renewables took the spotlight once more, as a reliable alternative to volatile fossil fuels supplies. At COP 27, a call to accelerate renewable energy deployment was included in the discussions for the first time ever. The milestone was, however, weakened by deploying the term “low-emissions energy”, which can potentially include natural gas. Renewable energy capacity worldwide nearly tripled between 2010 and 2022. Nevertheless, models forecast renewable energy production will need to triple again by 2030, if net-zero by 2050 is to be reached.The debate of phasing down or phasing out all fossil fuels will continue in future conferences, with pressure building for a final decision on eliminating such sources from the energy grids to be reached as soon as possible.
