Covid-19 just did not bring in its wake a stronger focus on lives and livelihoods, it also brought to the fore the need for sustainability and equity. The upcoming COP27 Summit to be held between November 6 and 18 at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt is the most significant global platform to discuss the most pressing problem of our times in the post-Corona world – sustainability and equity.
Though there is hardly any country that does not understand the need for effective measures to address climate change and extreme weather conditions, what they are willing to commit will define the success of the negotiations. While Covid-19 was held in the backdrop of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the resultant energy and food shortages would be the drivers at COP27.
Evolution of the Climate Summit
Before we get down to what to expect, let's first examine the genesis of these climate summits. The United Nations understood the importance of creating a unified voice on climate and in 1992 organized the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which also adopted the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Several countries aligned, understood, and appreciated the need for curbing emissions and greenhouse gas which harm the environment and cause debilitating changes in weather patterns and bring floods, famine, and fire in their wake. With every passing year, countries agree on establishing legally binding limits on emissions such as the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015. During the latter, countries agreed to step up efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial temperatures and provide a boost to climate-related financing.
The context for COP27
At COP26 last year countries agreed to deliver stronger commitments, including updated national plans with more ambitious targets. However, so far only 23 of 193 countries have submitted their plans to the UN, according to a note by the UN. While the last Summit at Glasgow deliberated on net-zero commitment, forest protection, and climate finance, COP27 is expected to focus on its operationalization and implementation. Egypt has already called for timely, inclusive, visible, and scalable efforts in this regard. The developed nations have to understand that the developing economies and the resource-starved African nations do not have the same financial muscle and therefore, they need to make larger concessions with regard to curbing emissions and contributing finances.
Issues at hand
While it's been understood that the developed world needs to contribute more to deal with the consequences of climate change, discussions would need to address promises versus actuals. The fulfillment of the annual $100 bn adaptation finance proposal and how it’s measured to meet the global goal of adaptation will be key. There also needs to be an agreement on the level and measure of emissions for the developed world to ensure there is a level playing field. The mechanism and measures to quantify differences between the advanced and low-income countries related to "loss and damage" and a compensatory mechanism also need to evolve during this summit. Besides, the developed world needs to mobilize the much-needed climate finance and create a roadmap to that long-term finance.
India's role
India's promises to mitigate climate change at COP 26 will be in the spotlight too, considering it is responsible for the third-highest carbon emissions globally. Last year, India pledged to meet 50% of the country's energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030 and net zero by 2070. This is a daunting task. Moreover, according to the IEA, India's energy demand is projected to grow the fastest in the world, putting the country in a delicate position. In light of this, India's role is key to attaining the world's climate target and this will only keep growing in the coming years.
Success of COP27 lies in driving equity
The developed world has so far used highly polluting fossil fuels to get ahead. It now has to demonstrate responsibility towards creating financial arrangements for loss and damage, commitment towards double adaptation finance, accountability towards protecting the climate and the environment, and above all demonstrate compassion towards the less fortunate and the low greenhouse emitting countries. At a time when the less fortunate in the Global South are even more vulnerable to the impact of Climate Change, in parts precipitated by the higher emissions from the Global North, it becomes the moral duty of the developed nations to make generous concessions for the vulnerable sections. Besides, they also need to provide viable solutions to the food, water, and energy crisis which is expected to worsen over the years without any clear action on the ground. In a globally connected world, no one will be spared. It will boil down to equity and how the developed world shows an understanding of the word equity, for the COP27 summit to become a real success. I hope the leaders of the developed world are listening!
The writer is a Gold award winner in the Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2021, is a football enthusiast, who writes occasionally on climate-related issues.The views expressed in the article are his own.