Leaders from almost 200 nations will gather in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm-el-Sheikh from Nov 6 to 18 to hammer out details of how countries can take climate action under the Paris Agreement.
The official report after COP 26 acknowledged that climate change has already caused significant loss and damage. That has been seen on a huge scale this year. The floods in Kwazulu-Natal, Pakistan, the US and Nigeria this year were not caused entirely by climate change, but they were certainly exacerbated by it.
Building on the outcomes and momentum of COP 26 in Glasgow last year, nations are expected to demonstrate at COP 27 that they are in a new era of implementation by turning their commitments under the Paris Agreement into action. The conference will take place from 6-18 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
COP27 will likely reaffirm a pledge made at 2021's climate conference in Glasgow, which recognised the interlinked global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and the critical role of protecting, conserving and restoring nature and ecosystems. There will be discussions on finding more money for climate adaptation. As the world suffers from more severe climate events, the money to pay for loss and damage will be looked at.
Looking back at Cop26
The key takeaways from COP26 included:
- Securing global net zero and keep 1.5 degrees within reach.
- Adapting to protect communities and natural habitats.
- Mobilising finance.
- Working together to deliver.
The outcome at COP26 provided a broad plan for how the international trade in carbon credits will work, but details were left to future negotiations.
For example, the trade in credits from carbon projects entails the setting up of an administrative infrastructure that involves the creation of a centralised database and accounting framework and registry.
Negotiators will also need to fine-tune the criteria for carbon projects and determine the methodologies for which carbon projects are approved, to ensure that they truly benefit the climate.
How have financial systems begun to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change?
- Public and Private institutions: Include climate-related considerations in all private and public spending decisions, ensuring finance projects bring environmental benefits alongside socio-economic ones.
- Companies: Transparently disclosing business risks and opportunities caused by climate change and committing to net zero.
- Central Banks and Institutions: Support the transition to Net Zero, while ensuring that financial systems are resilient to the impacts of climate change.
- Private Banks, Financial Firms, and Investors: Investing in companies and funds that are committed to the transition to Net Zero.
Looking ahead to COP 27
World leaders are set to discuss action to tackle climate change, at the UN climate summit in Egypt. It follows a year of climate-related disasters and broken temperature records.
COP27 will focus on three main areas:
- Reducing emissions
- Helping countries to prepare and deal with climate change
- Securing technical support and funding for developing countries for these activities
Some areas not fully resolved or covered at COP26 will be picked up:
- Loss and damage finance - money to help countries recover from the effects of climate change, rather than just prepare for it
- Establishment of a global carbon market - to price the effects of emissions into products and services globally
- Strengthen the commitments to reduce coal use
There will also be themed days for focused talks and announcements on issues including gender, agriculture and biodiversity. The six key issues that will be discussed this November look to be:
1. Mitigation work plan
2. Adaptation
3. Climate finance
4. Loss and damage
5. Biodiversity
6. Carbon markets
How far have we come since COP 26?
The UNFCCC published its NDC Synthesis report on October 26th 2022, which tracks the ‘gap’ between emissions reductions to date and those set to occur in future, with the level of reductions actually needed to limit global warming in line with the Paris Agreement.
According to the report, current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) made to the Paris Agreement by nations and states would put the world on course for a 2.5C temperature increase between pre-industrial times and 2100. This is provided that the plans are implemented in full and to time, which is unlikely.
The report does post some progress. Last year, UNFCC warned that global annual emissions would be 13.7% higher in 2030 than in 2010. It projected a continued increase in emissions beyond 2030. Now, the body believes that emissions will likely peak in or before 2030, with most parties having strengthened their NDCs over the past 12 months.
However, this comes with a caveat. The report emphasizes that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recommended a 43% reduction in annual global net emissions between 2019 and 2030 to give the world the best chance of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5C. National pledges are nowhere near consistent with this level of decarbonisation.
The role of companies like Rio in achieving Net Zero goals for companies
Navigating this critical path to Net Zero is important to get right. Aligning with climate science and defining what Net Zero means for your organisation can often be daunting and you might not know where to start.
At Rio ESG, we believe that Net Zero strategies, carbon reporting, and target setting needs to be as straightforward as possible. That’s why we work to democratise the process through our intelligent, accessible sustainability software and free resources like this guide.
We look forward to positive outcomes for achieving the goals of COP26 and laying the foundations to meet the critical milestones of halving global emissions by 2030 and achieving Net Zero by 2050.
