Irene looks back on the first week of COP27
World leaders, policy-makers, and delegates from nearly 200 countries are in Egypt at the COP27 UN climate summit.
The first two days at COP are dedicated to the World Leaders Summit where Heads of State and Government meet to share their key statements, and stances and aim to deliver concrete actions and credible plans.
This is typically the moment to announce new pledges or commitments, which can guide the turn of negotiations.
During the World Leaders Summit Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, was among the most powerful.
“The catastrophic floods impacted 33 million people, more than half our women and children, [covering] the size of three European countries. Despite seven times the average of extreme rain in the south, we struggled on as raging torrents ripped out over 8,000km of metal roads, damaged more than 3,000km of railway track and washed away standing crops on 4m acres and ravaged all of the four corners of Pakistan.”
He continued,
“We became a victim of something with which we had nothing to do, and of course it was a manmade disaster,” he said. “Imagine on one hand we have to cater for food security for the common man by spending billions of dollars and on the other we have to spend billions of dollars to protect flood-affected people from further miseries and difficulties. How on earth can one expect from us that we will undertake this gigantic task on our own?”
Following this speech, it’s important to highlight the importance of Loss and Damage which is one of the key points this year at COP.
Loss and damage mean different things to different groups and there is no agreed upon definition of loss and damage within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, loss and damage can generally be understood as the negative impacts of climate change that occur despite, or in the absence of, mitigation and adaptation (Dr Adelle Thomas lead author of IPCC report 2022).
Loss and Damage have been discussed several times at different COPs however this is the first time that it has been put on the Agenda.
As Loss and Damage is discussed, so is Climate Finance which is a crucial and vital topic, especially in regards to the 100 billion dollars promised in the past COP which hasn’t been reached yet. This is so disappointing.
This 100 billion dollars promised are not just a request from the most affected countries but it’s a demand that needs to be delivered.
During these days Climate YES group was on the ground to share the voices of young Christian activists from around the world (read the statement here).
On the 11th November, Climate YES hosted a side event with the title, “Intergenerational Dialogue.”
The side event provoked intergenerational dialogue in the decision-making processes and in particular in addressing the climate induced loss and damage. There is need for intergenerational dialogue in the allocation of finances to ensure accountability, transparency and a sense of responsibility. Many people all over the Globe are adversely affected by the climate crisis. Many, and especially young people, have no access to water, food, and basic necessities as they are experiencing adverse weather events. Climate YES is a global movement and our aim is to provide global solutions but also lead in grassroots-level implementation for the common good of humanity (Cyprian Kiteng’e - Climate Coordinator for Africa).
On Saturday 12th November hundreds of activists marched calling upon developed nations to compensate poorer areas of the world for damage caused by climate change.
Saturday’s protests also called for human and gender rights, with protesters saying both are linked to climate justice and urging for an end to a crackdown on rights and environmental activists, especially in developing nations.
Photo credits: A.Hillert/LWF
Come back next week to hear more from Irene.