Vibha Sharma
New Delhi, November 20
The UN climate talks in Egypt ended today after prolonged discussions, creating “history” by deciding to establish a fund to address loss and damage—a development that was welcomed by all, including by experts in India, saying that the “shift in mindset” offered “hope”.
“It is a testament to the tenacity of climate vulnerable countries and a warning shot to polluters that they can no longer go scot-free with their climate destruction,” said Ulka Kelkar, Director, Climate Program, WRI. At the same time Kelkar also added that the final decision from COP27 could have made a powerful commitment in the current energy crisis to phase out all fossil fuels.
Moreover, since there is still no clarity on the terms of the funding arrangements, experts said a broader discussion based on the definition of development itself and the reformation of the financial systems must take place at the highest level as costs from extreme weather soar to over $200 billion annually.
According to TERI’s RR Rashmi, “final text merely keeps the processes alive till the next COP.”
“While a notional funding arrangement for Lamp;D has been agreed upon, its shape and scale are far from clear. It is unlikely that calls on other crucial issues will be taken before the conclusion of the global stocktake,” Rashmi added.
In other words, a reassessment of which countries pay and which receive will also be a major issue next year.
Notably, the climate talks this year were impacted by the food and energy crisis. India engaged constructively and actively on the subject of loss and damage, which refers to destruction caused by climate change-induced disasters, during the course of discussions, along with “phasing down of all fossil fuels”.
The success of the talks hinged on the fund to address the “loss and damage” fund, which was proposed by the G77, China and India, least developed countries and small island states. Vulnerable countries said they would not leave COP27 without a loss and damage finance facility. Developed nations, particularly the US, opposed fearing it would hold them legally liable for massive damages caused by climate change.
History was made today at #COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh as parties agreed to the establishment of a long-awaited loss and damage fund for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. pic.twitter.com/spmWVUjTva
— COP27 (@COP27P) November 20, 2022
“History was made today at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh as parties agreed to the establishment of a long-awaited loss and damage fund for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change,” the official twitter handle of the UN climate summit in Egypt posted.
UN Secretary-General Antoacute;nio Guterres said COP27 has taken an important step towards justice. “I welcome the decision to establish a loss and damage fund and to operationalize it in the coming period. Clearly this will not be enough, but it is a much-needed political signal to rebuild broken trust,” he tweeted.
The decision was finally approved at the COP27 closing plenary session that started around 7:45 IST after negotiators debated updated drafts through the night, amid the criticism it “did nothing to address the causes of impacts, the use of fossils and the destruction of nature.”
“Countries failed to agree to a phasedown of all fossil fuels, building on a call to phasedown coal at COP26 in Glasgow. Perhaps this was no surprise, the presence of the oil, gas and big agriculture industries hung heavy over these talks, with 600 plus lobbyists at the summit and a stream of gas deals struck on the sidelines,” analysts said.
Vaibhav Chaturvedi from Council on Energy Environment and Water said, “While the new funding arrangement for supporting developing countries on the issue of loss and damage is welcome, who will pay for it drowned into the choppy water of definitions, mechanisms, and most importantly developed countries versus major economies.”
According to Pallavi Das, Programme Associate, CEEW: “At COP27, India negotiated from a position of strength and ensured that the debate moved from coal phase out to fossil phase down. This push exposed the hypocrisy of oil and gas producers, mainly the USA and Saudi Arabia, and the text settled on coal phase down, as in the case of Glasgow. India should continue to corner gas and oil producing countries to ensure that the world is on track to achieve the 1.5 Deg C target.”
Ulka Kelkar said that “just as the G20 communique made a strong statement against war, the final decision from COP27 could have made a powerful commitment in the current energy crisis to phase out all fossil fuels. Instead, it only called for a diversified energy mix, implicitly accepting the continued expansion of gas”.
Shruti Sharma, Senior Policy Advisor, IISD, also called it “disappointing that COP27 did not build on the COP26 statement to deliver a stronger message on phaseout of fossil fuels. COP26 asked parties to, among other things, transition to low energy systems through the phase down of unabated coal phasedown.”
“This COP will be remembered for the agreement to create a loss and damage fund; which speaks to the scale of the climate crisis we are in,” said Aarti Khosla, Director, Climate Trends.
