COP27 will probably be extended
Egypt presents draft final paper
11/18/2022, 11:30 a.m
The climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh was supposed to end this afternoon. However, some points of contention have not yet been resolved. At least a first draft of a final declaration is now available. This should not satisfy climate activists.
Shortly before the planned conclusion of the world climate summit in Egypt, the representatives from around 200 countries are present for the first time official draft for a final statement. The ten-page paper by the Egyptian conference leaders this morning calls for a gradual phase-out of coal. However, the demand of a number of states and climate activists to also bid farewell to oil and gas is not taken up.
Also unresolved is the dispute as to whether a fund will be set up under the umbrella of the United Nations to compensate poor countries for inevitable climate damage. This means the fatal consequences of global warming such as droughts, floods and hurricanes, but also rising sea levels.
It is the first formal text draft, so far there have only been key points. The new document calls on states to improve their largely inadequate climate protection plans by the next climate conference, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2023.
EU Commission Vice Frans Timmermans announced in the morning that he wanted to show a willingness to compromise and “build bridges” in the heated debate about compensation for climate damage. The establishment of the fund demanded by dozens of poorer countries is not the preferred option from the EU’s point of view, but a step is taken towards the developing countries.
Extension of the conference likely
The UN meeting COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh with around 34,000 participants is scheduled to end in the late afternoon, but it is very likely that it will be extended into the weekend. The Federal Ministers Svenja Schulze and Steffi Lemke also assume this. The SPD politician Schulze said on Bavarian radio that the negotiations about the compensation payments for climate damage were still ongoing. “And I don’t think that can be completed today, but that we need an extension.”
Green politician Lemke expressed the expectation that negotiations would continue into the night or until Saturday, “because there are other controversial points on the agenda”. According to statistics from the climate portal “Carbon Brief”, not a single climate conference has ended on time in the past 20 years. The UN said on Thursday evening that food and transport at the conference would be secured until Sunday evening.
Schulze also made China responsible for helping to compensate for climate damage in poorer countries. “China currently has 28 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. So they also have to help deal with the damage. They always hide behind the fact that they are a developing country. But in fact they are no longer a developing country,” said Schulze on Bavarian radio . China wants to continue to be treated as a developing country in international climate protection, as stipulated in the 1992 Kyoto Protocol.
Environmentalists unenthusiastic
Environmental protection organizations still see a number of gaps in the draft. Overall, the paper is “not a big hit” and has no signal effect for appropriate climate protection, said Jan Kowalzig from Oxfam. “That’s partly what we already had – or even toned down. That’s insufficient.”
Friederike Röder from Global Citizen was also critical. “The current blueprint is far from stopping the climate crisis as real progress in key areas is missing.” The text must make it clear how subsidies for oil, gas and coal should continue. “The language is currently confusing and contains no deadlines.” In addition, the gradual phase-out of all fossil fuels must be stipulated, not just coal. “Several countries made suggestions, but none made it into the text.”