Louise Salle
As COP27 draws to a close, the results seem meager. In the end, many believe that the negotiations were very difficult around agreements that were not very ambitious. The only progress: financial aid provided to the countries of the South to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
COP27 negotiations end this weekend in Egypt. For two weeks, Heads of State and leaders discussed CO2 emissions and financial aid to reduce them. But, while the previous COP in Glasgow had noted the need to reduce coal, the discussions seem to lead, this time, to an unambitious agreement… Apart, perhaps, from the financial aid granted to the countries of the South.
This is the only point on which the discussions have made progress, even if the tensions remain numerous since the European Union wants China and the Gulf countries to side with the rich donor countries in order to compensate the poorest for climate disasters. that they undergo. Ronan Dantec, president of the NGO Climate Chance, supports this request. “If we want to achieve the results on both the reduction of emissions and on adaptation, it is absolutely necessary to find a huge amount of funding. And there is no longer any reason today for China, which emits per capita middle classes more CO2 than us, does not participate in the effort”, he explains. “So it causes a lot of blockages.”
An “influence of the oil monarchies of the Gulf”?
On fossil fuels, absolutely nothing has been recorded. The phasing out of coal had been mentioned in Glasgow. But this year, petrodollars are making their mark. “Very clearly, we are on a COP which is under the influence of the oil monarchies of the Gulf”, estimates Ronan Dantec. “So the texts that are presented here are extremely unambitious on the issue of fossil fuels, especially oil.”
The next COP should be more decisive since it will take stock of efforts since the Paris agreement. Still, it will be organized… in Dubai.