This year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) occurs during a time of global conflict and severe environmental instability. The Russia–Ukraine war, natural disasters such as the devastating floods in Pakistan, and humanitarian crises have exacerbated concerns over energy security, emissions, and long-term sustainability. As the pernicious effects of climate change become more acute, the world is running out of time to take meaningful action to address the crisis.
Against this backdrop, heads of state and delegates will meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from Nov. 6–18 to discuss how to achieve the world’s collective climate goals as stated in the Paris Agreement. Building on the momentum from COP26, delegates are expected to implement the Glasgow Climate Pact and unveil a plan to curb methane emissions pursuant to a joint pledge made at the conference last year.
During the next two weeks, Just Security will highlight COP27’s key moments and trends to watch. We invite you to regularly check this page for the latest commentary from COP27 as it is updated to reflect meetings, speeches, expert analyses, and more.
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Just Security’s coverage of climate-related affairs, from natural disasters and environmental diplomacy to energy security and its connection to human rights.
Articles
Climate Change Diplomacy
Tackling Climate Change Displacement at COP27
Camila Bustos and Jeffrey Chase (@MaCamilaBustos) discuss the need to create pathways to protect climate-displaced people and honor climate finance commitments on behalf of industrialized countries.
Loss and Damage at COP27: What’s Been Lost, What Can We Salvage From the Damage?
Jocelyn Perry (@JocelynGPerry) urges the international community to confront disparities in historical responsibility for climate change, and current climatic events, and expand upon mitigation and adaptation measures at COP27.
The Egypt Climate Summit: Four Key Questions to Help Frame COP27
Mark Nevitt (@MarkNevitt) examines questions relevant to the international negotiations taking place at COP27, including how climate protests and U.S. foreign relations will impact climate talks.
The Mining Gap: Critical Minerals and Geopolitical Competition
Gregory Brew (@gbrew24) and Morgan Bazilian (@MBazilian) discuss how the world’s demand for critical minerals will undermine international security and decarbonization efforts.
Climate Change Diplomacy Has an Authoritarianism Problem
Kirk Herbertson (@KirkHerbertson) analyzes the links between civic participation and climate change and warns how authoritarian regimes may undermine the policy commitments that will be announced at COP27.
Good COP, Bad COP: After the Mixed Results of COP26, What’s Next?
Ben Abraham and Jocelyn Perry analyze the “mixed results” of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference and suggest that implementation of the 2015 Paris Agreement will depend on countries’ commitment to addressing the threat of climate change.
Climate Change and National Security
Climate Security, Energy Security, and the Russia-Ukraine War
Mark Nevitt (@marknevitt) discusses how, amidst the war in Ukraine, Europe’s reliance on Russian oil underscores the importance of adopting a comprehensive approach to energy policy that considers both climate change and geopolitical risk.
Declaring a Climate Emergency Won’t Save the Planet – Energy Security Could
Emily Holland (@EmilyJHolland) and Morgan Bazilian (@MBazilian) analyze how a formal declaration of a national climate emergency may hamper policy responses rather than win political and popular support.
Is Climate Change a National Emergency?
Mark Nevitt (@marknevitt) argues how the declaration of a climate emergency can elevate an issue in the international and national consciousness and spark new environmental legislation.
Getting Climate Intelligence Right
Rod Schoonover (@RodSchoonover) and Erin Sikorsky (@ErinSikorsky) review whether the intelligence community has adequately conveyed the severity of the climate emergency – an issue that will dictate the national security landscape for years to come.
Climate and Human Rights
Climate Change is a Human Rights Issue – Particularly in US-China Relations
Tim Hirschel-Burns (@TimH_B) outlines how the future of US-China relations must focus on human rights to appropriately frame the debate between climate collaboration and climate competition whilst reducing emissions.
Climate and Conflict
Bringing Climate and Terrorism Together at the UN Security Council – Proceed with Caution
Jordan Street (@jordan_street07) evaluates the UN Security Council’s first open thematic debate to explore the links between climate change and terrorism and emphasizes how investing in climate solutions can help peacebuilding efforts.
Climate and Food Security
Framing the Problem of Hunger and Conflict at the UN Security Council
Michael Fakhri (@MichaelFakhri) analyzes the Security Council’s failure to adequately address the link between food security and conflict and calls for a global right to food plan.
Climate and Humanitarianism
Long-Term International Climate Assistance to Pakistan is a Hard Sell, but Necessary. Here’s Why.
Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) examines Pakistan’s severe climate vulnerability and the need for international aid as the country endures devastating floods.
Amid Devastating Floods, Pakistan’s Leaders Must Learn from the Past to Avoid Future Mistakes
Jumaina Siddiqui (@jumainasiddiqui) analyzes the role of the international community amidst Pakistan’s devastating floods, recommending that they assist in the road to recovery and bolster mitigation efforts.
Climate Change and the Courts
Greenhouse Gaslighting: Deceptive Moderation and West Virginia v. EPA
Craig Green reviews the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority how its decisions hold consequences for the vision of environmental policy.
Relevant Documents
Reports
2030 Adaptation Outcomes for Human Settlements, UN Climate Change High-Level Champions and Boston Consulting Group, November 17, 2022
Anticipating Vulnerability Hotspots in the Sahel: A Synthesis Report from the Sahel Predictive Analytics Project in Support of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS), UN Integrated Strategy for the Sahel, November 16, 2022
Sustainable Food Cold Chains: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward, UN Environment Programme, November 12, 2022
10 New Insights in Climate Science 2022, Future Earth, The Earth League, and WCRP, November 10, 2022
Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction, UN Environment Programme, November 9, 2022
Making good on the Glasgow Climate Pact: a call to action to achieve one gigaton of emissions reductions from forests by 2025, UN-REDD Programme, UN Environment Programme, and the Green Gigaton Challenge, November 7, 2022
World Heritage Glaciers: Sentinels of climate change, UNESCO, November 3, 2022
Adaptation Gap Report 2022: Too Little, Too Slow – Climate adaptation failure puts world at risk, UN Environment Programme, November 1, 2022
Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window – Climate crisis calls for rapid transformation of societies, UN Environment Programme, October 27, 2022
Key Events
November 20
Notable Events
- Negotiations that continued late into the night on Saturday culminated early Sunday morning in an agreement to establish a loss and damage fund. Most of the key questions concerning implementation remain to be determined. A committee comprising 24 countries, ten wealthy nations and fourteen others, will over the next year hammer out details of how the fund should be structured, which countries will contribute to it, and how the money will be distributed. The deal represents a landmark agreement that developing nations had made the cornerstone of their agenda during COP27–and had been the subject of tense negotiations throughout the conference. The United States and other wealthy nations had historically opposed the establishment of the fund. No similar announcement was made regarding talks to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Notable Quotes
- António Guterres (@antonioguterres), Secretary-General, United Nations
- “This COP has taken an important step towards justice. I welcome the decision to establish a loss and damage fund and to operationalize it in the coming period. Clearly, this will not be enough, but it is a much-needed political signal to rebuild broken trust. The voices of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis must be heard.”
- Sameh Shoukry (@MfaEgypt), COP27 President, Egypt
- “We rose to the occasion. We worked around the clock, day and night, but united in working for one gain, one higher purpose, one common goal. In the end we delivered. We listened to the calls of anguish and despair.”
- Sherry Rehman (@sherryrehman), Climate Minister, Pakistan
- “The announcement offers hope to vulnerable communities all over the world who are fighting for their survival from climate stress.”
- “This is not about accepting charity. This is a down payment on investment in our futures, and in climate justice.”
- Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Health, Wellness, and the Environment, Antigua and Barbuda
- “Today, the international community has restored global faith in this critical process that is dedicated to ensuring no one is left behind. The agreements made at COP27 are a win for our entire world. We have shown those who have felt neglected that we hear you, we see you, and we are giving you the respect and care you deserve.”
- Frans Timmermans (@TimmermansEU), Vice President, European Commission
- “Too many parties are not ready to make more progress today in the fight against the climate crisis. There were too many attempts to roll back what we agreed in Glasgow. This deal is not enough [on cutting emissions].”
- Mohamed Adow (@mohadow), Executive Director, Power Shift Africa
- “COP27 has done what no other COP has achieved and created a loss and damage fund to support the most impacted communities of climate change. This has been something which vulnerable countries have been calling for since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.”
- “It is worth noting that we have the fund but we need money to make it worthwhile. What we have is an empty bucket. Now we need to fill it so that support can flow to the most impacted people who are suffering right now at the hands of the climate crisis.”
November 19
Notable Events
- China and the United States have renewed their partnership to tackle the climate crisis and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to China’s climate envoy Xie Zhenhua. Xie said he and John Kerry, US envoy for climate, have had “a close and active dialogue, that was overall very constructive. [We want to] ensure the success of COP27 and exchange opinions on our differences.”
Notable Quotes
- Vanessa Nakate (@vanessa_vash), Climate Activist, Uganda
- “COP27 was meant to be the African COP, but the needs of African people have been obstructed throughout. Loss and damage in vulnerable countries is now unignorable, but some developed countries here in Egypt have decided to ignore our suffering. Young people were not able to have their voice heard at COP27 because of restrictions on protest, but our movement is growing and ordinary citizens in every country are starting to hold their governments accountable on the climate crisis.”
- Frans Timmermans (@TimmermansEU), Vice President, European Commission
- “The European Union wants a positive result, but we don’t want a result at any price. We will not accept the result if it takes us back. We need to move forward. All ministers, as they have told me, like myself, are prepared to walk away if we do not have a result that justice to what the world is waiting for.”
- David Tong, Senior Campaigner, Oil Change International
- “Every COP reaches a strange challenging endgame and every COP I’ve seen we reach a point where it looks like negotiations might collapse, but this looks like something else. Negotiations are on the verge of a breakdown even more so than in other years. We’re hearing conflicting things about what the text is saying, but what we’re hearing is deeply worrying.”
November 18
Notable Events
- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry informed delegates that the climate negotiations would spill into Saturday. The global talks have been deadlocked as richer nations have struggled to find common ground with developing countries. “I remain concerned at the number of outstanding issues,” Shoukry said. Secretary-General António Guterres said at a joint press conference with Shoukry, “We are at crunch time in the negotiations. COP27 is scheduled to close in 24 hours – and the parties remain divided on a number of significant issues. There is clearly a breakdown in trust between North and South, and between developed and emerging economies. This is no time for finger pointing. The blame game is a recipe for mutually assured destruction.”
- Similarly, Brazilian Minister of the Environment Joaquim Leite said with regard to ongoing pressure to establish a loss and damage fund, “Unfortunately, we did not reach an expected result regarding climate finance. Brazil placed pressure together with the G77 plus China, but so far, we have no news that the loss and damage fund will come out.”
- European Commission vice president, Frans Timmermans, launched a proposal on behalf of the European that would see it agree to establish a loss and damage fund.
Notable Quotes
- Mahmoud Mohieldin (@UNenvoyMM), UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, Egypt
- “Different MDBs [multilateral development banks] should extend concessional finance terms to low-middle, as well as low-income, countries – with 1% interest rate, a 10-year grade period, and a 20-year repayment period (for a total of a 30-year maturity period). If this gets through, it could lead to a transformation in climate finance and investments in developing countries. Only then would I say that climate finance would be ‘efficient, sufficient, and fair’.”
- Nigel Topping (@topnigel), UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, United Kingdom
- “The truth is that 1.5C is not a target. As earth systems scientists remind us: 1.5C is a limit. A limit anchored in physics: beyond which we unleash tipping points to hell… The truth is that we are far, far off track from where we need to be. But we must not give up hope. Instead, we must imagine better times ahead and unleash the incredible ingenuity of humankind.”
- Nakeeyat Dramani Sam, Youth Activist, Ghana
- “If all of you were young people like me, wouldn’t you have already agreed to do what is needed to save our planet? Should we let the youth take over? Maybe only the youth delegations should be at the next COP.”
- “Some of the communities in my country are paying heavy prices since our planet was lit on fire by some people. This puts a simple question on the table… When can you pay us back? Because payment is overdue.”
- Catherine Abreu (@catabreu), Founder, Destination Zero
- “The Egyptian presidency and other countries involved in these negotiations have a choice. Do we walk out of this COP saying we have something tangible to bring home to our communities? Or do we leave this COP with the same empty-handed promises that we’ve left most COPs with over the last three decades.”
- Eamon Ryan (@EamonRyan), Minister, Ireland
- “The UN Framework convention on climate change was written from a 1992 perspective. The scale of the climate crisis here and now is something we did not expect then.”
- Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Health, Wellness, and the Environment, Antigua and Barbuda
- “Some developed countries are furiously trying to stall progress and even worse, attempting to undermine small island developing states. So, not only are they causing the worst impacts of the climate crisis, they are playing games with us in this multilateral process.”
- “There has to be a mechanism [for funding loss and damage]. Whether you call it a fund or facility. Failure to do so would establish a feeling of betrayal.”
Solutions Day (November 17)
Solutions Day will bring together government representatives, businesses and innovators to share their experiences and ideas with the aim of spreading awareness, discussing challenges, and building future collaborations.
Notable Events
- The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) published a 20-page draft of a final international climate agreement, which will be the culmination of COP27. The draft repeats many of the goals mentioned in last year’s Glasgow Climate Pact, such as aiming to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and phasing down coal power. It also “welcomes” the agreement to include loss and damage payments, but does not specifically provide details on how to establish a loss and damage funding program. The paper is likely to be reworked before Friday’s deadline.
- The COP27 Presidency launched the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) initiative, which puts forward a framework for achieving sustainable and resilient urban systems and facilitating access to finance.
- The Accelerate to Zero (A2Z) coalition was also launched. It aims to promote and support the world’s transition to zero emission vehicles globally. It is the largest international transportation coalition with over 200 organizations, including governments, industry and civil society.
- Representatives of constituencies of indigenous peoples, women, youth and workers demanded climate justice at the People’s Plenary, which takes place annually at the UN’s climate summits. The activists shared their experiences regarding climate change and discussed the human rights threatened by the ongoing environmental crisis. The plenary attendants then marched at the outdoor area of the convention center and read the COP27 People’s Declaration for Climate Justice. The document calls for a “system change” to ensure just transitions to peoples-owned decentralized renewable energy systems, the repayment of climate debt by reducing emissions to zero by 2030, and addressing loss and damage.
Notable Quotes
- António Guterres (@antonioguterres), Secretary-General, United Nations
- “There is clearly a breakdown in trust between North and South, and between developed and emerging economies. This is no time for finger-pointing. The blame game is a recipe for mutually assured destruction.”
- “The most effective way to rebuild trust is by finding an ambitious and credible agreement on loss and damage and financial support to developing countries. The time for talking on loss and damage finance is over. We need action.”
- “Reflect the urgency, scale and enormity of the challenge faced by developing countries. We cannot continue to deny climate justice to those who have contributed least to the climate crisis and are getting hurt the most.”
- “The 1.5 target is not simply about keeping a goal alive – it’s about keeping people alive. I see the will to keep to the 1.5 goal – but we must ensure that commitment is evident in the COP27 outcome.”
- Maria Shikongo, Climate Activist, Namibia
- “We should be the ones on the table. We should be the ones as indigenous nations [are among the most impacted] communities. We should be there. We have the solutions. Indigenous people have the solutions, but they refuse to listen to them.”
Biodiversity Day (November 16)
Biodiversity Day will focus on the impacts of climate change on oceans, endangered species, coral reefs, impacts of plastic waste on aquatic ecosystems, and ecosystem-based solutions.
Notable Events
- Brazilian President-Elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered to host UN climate talks in the Amazon in 2025. He declared, “I’m here in front of all of you to tell you that Brazil is back. Brazil can’t be isolated as it was in the last four years.” He said the country will prioritize preserving the rainforest and gave his speech standing among governors of Brazilian Amazon states. The President-Elect also called for support for loss and damage.
- The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched the Today and Tomorrow initiative, a new climate financing scheme to help countries with climate resilience and disaster preparedness for children and youth, as well as protect this same demographic from future climate harms. In its initial three-year pilot, the fund will focus on eight countries in four global cyclone basins: Bangladesh, Comoros, Haiti, Fiji, Madagascar, Mozambique, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. UNICEF plans to raise $30 million for the initiative.
- France and Spain joined a pledge to halt the sale of gasoline-driven vehicles by 2035, five years earlier than their previous target. The countries are among a group of new signatories to the Zero Emission Vehicles Declaration (ZEVD), originally launched at COP26.
- Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States announced that they were joining the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA), originally founded by Denmark at COP26. The Alliance aims to accelerate uptake of offshore wind.
- U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry said the United States and China are “fully engaged” at COP27. He had met with China’s top climate official Xie Zhenhua a day earlier, which was taken as a sign of thawed relations and potential progress on climate issues.
- The Egyptian COP27 Presidency and the International Union for Conservation of Nature launched the Enhancing Nature-based Solutions for an Accelerated Climate Transformation (ENACT) program with the goal of protecting at least 1 billion people and 2.4 billion hectares of healthy ecosystems, while restoring 350 million hectares of damaged ecosystems.
- The EU, along with France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark launched an initiative that will dedicate more than $1 billion in climate funding to help countries in Africa boost their resilience in the face of the accelerating impact of global warming. European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the fund will combine “existing and new programs,” and $50 million will go toward loss and damage.
Notable Quotes
- Inger Andersen (@andersen_inger), Executive Director, UN Environment Programme
- “If we invest in nature and nature’s infrastructure, forests, coral reefs, mangroves, coastal forests, well, it protects us from high storms. It provides habitat for species, but it also stores carbon. So, it has both a mitigation and an adaptation dimension.”
- “Some [pledges aimed at protecting forests] are beginning to roll off the belt onto reality. But there’s a reason why Egypt framed this as the ‘implementation COP’; because those pledges and promises have to see real action.”
- Adriana da Silva Maffioletti, Climate Activist, President-Elect, Brazil
- “Indigenous people have the most sustainable way to live. So, we must learn from them and not put them aside in this fight. We protect over 80 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity.”
- “This is not something for tomorrow. This is not something for 10 years [from now]. This is something for us to do right now. The climate crisis is affecting and killing people right now. So, we must act now.”
- Wael Aboulgmagd (@Wael_Aboulmagd), Special Representative for the COP27 President, Egypt
- “We would have hoped under the current circumstances to see more willingness to cooperate and accommodate than we are seeing in the reports that we receive from the various negotiating tracks, I reserve the verdict, maybe some countries and delegations will show more openness and accommodations as the last minute comes.”
- Ruanna Hayes, Negotiator, Alliance of Small Island States
- “There’s real concern about how things are progressing across the board. Of course, loss and damage is a key issue, the key outcome that the Alliance is looking for from this COP and things are still not coming together.”
Ace & Civil Society Day and Energy Day (November 15)
Ace & Civil Society Day will be dedicated to integrating the views and perspectives of civil society by identifying challenges, networking, and developing multi-stakeholder partnership opportunities.
Energy Day will consider all aspects of energy and climate change, including renewable energy and energy transformation, with a specific focus on just transition in the energy sector and the potential of green hydrogen.
Notable Events
- The COP27 presidency released a draft document with the summary of possible elements proposed by parties for inclusion in the conference’s final outcome. The document contains items including multilateralism, scaling up of renewable energy in the energy transition process, adaptation, the need for funding arrangements to address loss and damage, and climate accountability.
- Seven countries pledged new funding for the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF). Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Walloon Region of Belgium announced a total of $105.6 billion in funding combined. They also emphasized the need for even more financial support for the Global Environment Facility funds targeting the adaptation needs of low-income and low-lying nations. Belgium, Canada, France, and the United States expressed political support for both funds. The funding adds to the $413 million that 12 donor countries pledged to the LDCF at COP26. The LDCF supports 46 Least Developed Countries in climate adaptation financing. The SCCF similarly supports Small Island Development States.
- In an address, the ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the U.N., Conrad Hunte, said the island nation won’t leave the summit without a fund for climate-related loss and damage. “As we see the inaction of many developed countries, the potential to stall talks and land a devastating blow for us as small island developing states is looming. Antigua and Barbuda will not leave here without a loss and damage fund.”
- The United States, Canada, Japan, and several European countries announced a $20 billion climate financing deal with Indonesia that would aid the country, one of the world’s largest consumers of coal, in its transition to renewable power. The deal was announced at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, and involves Indonesia capping its carbon emissions at 290 million tons and upping its use of wind and solar power by 2030. At COP27, where the deal received great attention, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said, “We’ve built a platform for cooperation that can truly transform Indonesia’s power sector from coal to renewables and support significant economic growth.”
- European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the EU is on track to exceed its original plan to cut emissions by 55 percent (measured from 1990 levels) by 2030, with a new goal of over 57 percent.
- The COP27 Presidency announced the Africa Just & Affordable Energy Transition Initiative (AJAETI). It has set three primary goals by 2027: (1) to offer technical and policy support to facilitate affordable energy for at least 300 million people in Africa; (2) transition 300 million of the 970 million people who do not have access to clean cooking fuels; and (3) increase the share of renewable electricity generation by 25 percentage points and achieve a power sector based on renewables by 2063.
Notable Quotes
- Inger Andersen (@andersen_inger), Executive Director, UN Environment Programme
- “We’ve barely scratched the surface. And the one year since Glasgow, frankly, has been a year of climate procrastination. By 2030, we need to reduce emissions by between 30 to 45 per cent, but since COP26 we’ve shaved off one per cent. So, we have a long way to go.”
- “The current policies take us to a 2.8 degrees world…It is important that we have a conversation about emissions reduction and who carries the load. The G20, which are meeting this very week… have a collective responsibility for 75 per cent of all emissions.”
- Jim Skea, Scientist, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- “Half the world’s emissions are now covered by climate legislation. A fifth of the world’s emissions is covered by carbon prices. So, people haven’t quite used all the tools yet, but they’ve got [them] on the workbench. And if people have enough willpower to do it, big things can happen.”
- “We need to see gas use to be 45 per cent lower by 2050. That’s a 2 per cent reduction per year. And frankly, existing gas fields will deplete faster than that.”
- Francesco La Camera, (@flacamera), Director General, International Renewable Energy Agency
- “Today we have less than one-third renewable, two-thirds of fossil fuel in the energy system. We will have a completely different situation in 2050 where renewables and clean energy will be the more than two-thirds of energy… everything is changing.”
- “The Ukraine crisis has certified the end of an energy system centralized on fossil fuels. Governments have suddenly discovered that we cannot have 80 percent of the country dependent on fossil fuel and everyone wants now to go for a system that could be more independent.”
- Heffa Schuecking, Director, Urgenwald
- “We see new fossil fuel projects in 48 out of 55 African countries and these projects can be traced back to 200 companies. While the discussions are ongoing here at COP, we see a disconnect with what is happening in Egypt and in the rest of Africa. In Egypt alone, we have 55 companies prospecting for new gas discovery.”
- Odudu-Abasi James Asuquo, Climate Activist, Nigeria
- “My community needs a lot of help. Governments need to wake up. Climate change is not a statistic, it’s a reality. For me, it’s my daily life. I lost my parents; I lost my people. I don’t have a life. I don’t even have a home to go back to because there’s no land. The water is polluted. The air is polluted. So, climate change is my reality.”
- “They are talking about 2030 and I don’t have that. They are talking about 2024. I am not sure about that either. My community needs the help now and today is the day for action.”
Gender Day and Water Day (November 14)
Water Day will discuss issues related to sustainable water resource management, water scarcity, drought, cross boundary cooperation and improvement of early warning systems.
Gender Day will promote gender sensitive and responsive policies, strategies, and actions while shedding light on the woman’s role in adapting to climate change.
Notable Events
- The COP27 Presidency launched the African Women’s Climate Adaptive Priorities (AWCAP) to highlight the disproportionate toll climate disasters take on women and children. The initiative “aims to increase opportunities for women in the just transition to a green economy, as well as to promote gender-sensitive perspectives in adaptation and mitigation, while also promoting educational and behavioral change on women and climate change” by linking key ministers from various countries to one another to capacity-build and to divert more resources to ensuring women secure economic opportunities in green transition efforts.
- Water Day saw the COP27 Presidency launch the Action on Water, Adaptation, and Resilience (AWARe) initiative. Egypt will host the Pan-African Center for Water Climate Adaptation in marshaling financing, technology, and knowledge transfer/outreach to achieve three mains goals: (1) “[d]ecrease water losses worldwide and improve water supply;” (2) “[p]ropose and support implementing mutually agreed policy and methods for cooperative water-related adaptation action and its co-benefits;” and (3) “[p]romote cooperation and interlinkages between water and climate action in order to achieve Agenda 2030, in particular SDG 6 [ensuring water for all].”
- Separately, the G7 countries launched a “Global Shield” program with more than $200 million in initial funding. The aim is to rapidly deploy funds toward insurance and disaster protection following floods, droughts, and hurricanes in vulnerable countries.
Notable Quotes
- Amina Mohammed (@AminaJMohammed), Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations
- “Women and girls are essential, effective and powerful leaders to address the climate crisis. But they remain largely undervalued and underestimated with limited access to training extension services and the technology necessary for effective adaptation to the impacts of climate change… There’s a very simple and effective solution – put women and girls in the lead.”
- Lucy Ntongal, Climate Expert, Actionaid
- “The priority for mothers is water and because their husbands have left home looking for new pastures. They will take their daughters out of school to walk for miles to get water. Eventually, they must undergo female genital mutilation for them to be married off. This is because the family cannot to feed extra mouths,”
- “It is a forgotten crisis. But if we choose to ignore it, we are telling girls that world leaders do not care about their future anymore. Leaders need to keep the voices of girls and women from the Global South, living through the realities of climate crisis, at the heart of COP27 negotiations, as they are the best people to provide the solutions.”
- Henk Ovink (@henkovink), Water Envoy, Netherlands
- “For water, it is now or never. Water is the theme we find in energy, food security, health, economics and international collaboration… We really must change our behaviours, our attitudes, our actions, our governance and the way we organize around water.”Gender Day will promote gender sensitive and responsive policies, strategies, and actions while shedding light on the woman’s role in adapting to climate change.”
Adaptation & Agriculture Day (November 12)
Adaptation & Agriculture Day will focus on the devastating climate impacts endured by various countries and point out the fact that the world is not prepared to endure extreme weather events.
Notable Events
- The COP27 Egyptian Presidency announced the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) initiative to improve climate finance contributions toward transforming food systems by 2030. Speaking about the initiative, COP27 President Sameh Shoukry said, “As we reach a milestone in human development, we must ensure that our food systems are equipped to provide communities around the world with food that is produced in an inclusive, responsible, and sustainable way. With 43 million people suffering of hunger each year, this is a wake-up call for implementation. Initiatives such as FAST are critical in today’s world, where geopolitical shifts and extreme weather events can cause massive disruption to food supply chains that hurt the world’s poorest and exacerbate hunger and malnutrition.” The UN Food and Agriculture Organization will facilitate the voluntary collaboration among stakeholder groups.
- COP27 President Sameh Shoukry met with indigenous peoples to discuss their inclusion in the conference’s outcomes. Zé Bajaga Apurinã, chief of the Apurinã, an indigenous community in a southern Amazon state in Brazil, said in an interview, “Climate change has affected the lives of indigenous people seriously. We lost a lot of lives and lands because of floods and forest fires, all caused by climate change.” He asserted that loss and damage “should have had been included years ago [in COP agendas], but it is good it is now on the agenda in COP27.”
- Mexico pledged to cut its emissions by 35 percent by 2030, which is higher than its previous target of 22 percent. It is one of the few countries at COP27 to have announced an improvement in its targets thus far.
- U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said the United States is “totally supportive” of plans to address loss and damage.
- The COP27 Presidency announced the Climate Responses for Sustaining Peace (CRSP) initiative to address the intersection of climate and peacebuilding which over the next five years seeks to aid in the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, the Africa’s Silencing the Guns initiative, and the African Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy and Action Plan (2022-2032). COP27 President Sameh Shoukry said of the initiative, “Africa contributes the least to the climate crisis but is disproportionately affected in terms of how it unfolds and hurts communities. The devastating impact of climate change combined with conflict has far-reaching implications across the continent. CRSP will help deliver action on this critical issue as it addresses the potential risks posed by climate change for sustainable peace and development.”
Notable Quotes
- Qu Dongyu (@FAODG), Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
- “Sustainable food cold chains can make an important difference in our collective efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. All stakeholders can help implement the findings of this report, to transform agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable – for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.”
- Zitouni Ould-Dada (@ZitouniOuldDada), Deputy Director of the Climate and Environment Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
- “We can’t continue with the current model of producing food and then degrading the soil, declining biodiversity, affecting the environment. No. It must be sustainable… We can’t produce the food to feed and nourish a growing population with the current model, with the threat of climate change. We can’t.”
- “We have around 828 million people who go hungry every day. And yet, we throw away a third of the food that we produce for human consumption. We need to change our mindset, our production model, so that we don’t lose and waste food.”
- “Innovation in the broader sense like precision farming where you have drip irrigation combined with renewable energy so that you have efficiency. But also, innovation harnessing traditional knowledge of smallholder farmers is also important, because it is happening all the time.”
- Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (hindououmar), Climate Activist, Chad
- “Right to territories, right to resources, human rights, indigenous people rights, loss and damage must all be in the negotiation texts… 1.5 [degrees Celsius] is not negotiable; that is what we are here standing for.”
- “We want climate finance to go directly to indigenous peoples, we don’t want it to be for fossil fuels. We want it in the ground to plant trees, to protect the forests, and to give people the livelihoods they deserve. We cannot accept the polluters to continue sucking the blood of Mother Earth.”
- Nnimmo Bassey (@NnimmoB), Climate Activist, Nigeria
- “Africa is being assaulted right now. Mining and oil and gas companies sinking their dirty machines across the continent destroying, killing, stealing. This is the kind of colonialism that cannot be tolerated.”
Decarbonization Day (November 11)
Decarbonization Day aims to discuss carbon-reducing approaches and policies and showcase technologies that aim to facilitate the transition and paradigm shift towards a low carbon economy.
Notable Events
- The United States doubled its pledge to the Adaptation Fund to $100 million and announced over $150 million in additional funds to accelerate the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE) efforts across Africa.
- U.S. President Joe Biden gave an address at COP27, casting the United States as a climate leader and touting the climate commitments in the Inflation Reduction Act. He emphasized that the United States immediately rejoined the Paris Agreement during his administration and will continue to take bold action. He also announced that the United States, the EU, and Germany would provide $500 million to Egypt to finance its transition to green energy.
- Under the Breakthrough Agenda originally launched at COP26, countries representing more than half of global GDP and emissions pledged during Decarbonization Day to accomplish by COP28 a set of 25 steps to accelerate decarbonization across five sectors (power, road transport, steel, hydrogen, and agriculture), including, for example, agreeing to a date to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles.
Notable Quotes
- Selwin Hart (@SelwinHart), Special Adviser and Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations
- “There is no argument around the science at all. But of course, developing countries, especially the poorest, will need assistance to make the transition to a renewable energy future.”
- “We just need to [triple the world’s energy capacity] again this decade. The technologies are there, the finance is there. It just needs to be deployed in the right place, where the emissions are and where the population growth and energy demand is.”
- Olga Algayerova (@algayerova), Executive Secretary, United Nations European Economic Commission
- “Adopting circular economy approaches to help reduce needs for new materials will be crucial in [a carbon-neutral economy]. Solutions must be implemented without delay.”
- “The only way we can pull in these aspirations and hopes of the vulnerable people, including those in Africa, is for [negotiators] to articulate a comprehensive vision that helps progress, particularly around adaptation, loss and damage and justice.”
- Joe Biden (@POTUS), President, United States
- “I came to the presidency determined to make transformational changes that are needed, that America needs to make and we have to do for the rest of the world, to overcome decades of opposition and obstacles of progress on this issue alone… to reestablish the United States as a trustworthy and committed global leader on climate.”
- “To permanently bend the emissions curve, every nation needs to step up… At this gathering, we must renew and raise our climate ambitions. The United States is acting. Everyone has to act. It’s a duty and responsibility of global leadership.”
- “Russia’s war only enhances the urgency and need to transition the world off its dependence on fossil fuels… To use energy as a weapon to hold the global economy hostage must stop.”
Youth & Future Generations Day and Science Day (November 10)
Youth & Future Generations Day will provide an opportunity to ensure that youth perspectives are reflected across all areas of the climate agenda, and to showcase youth success stories and challenges.
Science Day consisted of panel discussions and events to engage with the science community and academia to ensure that climate conversations and actions are based on solid and credible science, and to further discuss roles of academia in support for global action to tackle climate change.
Notable Events
- UN Development Programme chief Achim Steiner warned that more than fifty of the poorest developing countries are in danger of defaulting on their debt and becoming bankrupt unless wealthy nations offer assistance. “If we have more shocks – interest rates go up further, borrowing becomes more expensive, energy prices, food prices – it becomes almost inevitable that we will see a number of these economies unable to pay,” he said.
- The UN Race to Resilience Initiative launched the Insurance Adaptation Acceleration Campaign, which aims to mobilize 3,000 insurance companies by next year’s COP. Its objective is to scale the industry’s ability to put forward meaningful climate risk reduction and pursue innovative, public-private partnerships that pursue the protection of vulnerable populations. The campaign also launched a data explorer to track progress of adaptation implementation.
- Global Mangrove Alliance, in collaboration with the UN Climate Change High-level Champions, called for signatories to the “Mangrove Breakthrough” which supports the Sharm El Sheikh Adaptation Agenda in recognizing the need to sustainably protect 15 million hectares of mangroves by 2030.
Notable Quotes
- Sameh Shoukry (@MfaEgypt), COP27 President, Egypt
- “The impacts of climate change have significant effects on the health, nutrition, education and the future of young people, meanwhile youth stands to be the most impacted by the decisions we take at the climate process. Thus, they should be considered a natural ally and partner in driving climate action.”
- Samuel Chijoke, Climate Activist, Nigeria
- “The world is quiet about climate-induced loss and damages. In my country, 2.5 million homes have been lost and over a thousand lives. Climate change has caused more unemployment, loss of livelihoods and an increase in poverty. What hope is there for the African continent?”
- Bruno Rodriguez (@Brunorodok), Climate Activist, Argentina
- “There is an issue that has been put aside COP after COP. The fact that we are in an African country this year is very significant. It is a scientific fact that countries with the least economic resources and with barely any responsibility for emissions are the ones that end up suffering the most… It is about reparation and social justice.”
- Alab Mirasol Ayroso, Climate Activist, Philippines
- “As a climate activist, my fight for climate justice is a fight for social justice. It is our human right to live, breathe, eat and speak freely, we need these human rights in the world with climate justice.”
- Simon Stiell (@simonstiell), Executive Secretary, United Nations Climate Change
- “Adaptation alone cannot keep up with the impacts of climate change, which are already worse than predicted… Adaptation actions are still crucial and are critical to upgrade small-scale, fragmented and reactive efforts. But the potential to adapt to climate change is not limitless. And they will not prevent all losses and damage that we’ve seen.”
- The less we mitigate, the more we have to adapt. So, investing in migration is a way of reducing the need to invest on adaptation and resilience. That means tabling stronger national climate action plans – and doing so now.”
- Johan Rockström (@jrockstrom), Co-Chair, Earth League
- “As science advances, we have more evidence of massive costs, risks, but also global benefits of reduced loss and damage, through an orderly safe landing of the world within the Paris [Agreement’s] climate range. To succeed requires global collaboration and speed at an unprecedented scale.”
Finance Day (November 9)
Finance Day will address several aspects of the climate finance ecosystem, including innovative financial instruments, tools and policies that have potential to enhance access, and contributions to the energy transition.
Notable Events
- In discussions regarding climate finance and justice, the United Kingdom said it would allow some debt payment deferrals for countries hit by climate disasters, and Austria and New Zealand offered funding for loss and damage.
- U.S. climate envoy John Kerry announced a new global carbon credit trading initiative, called the “energy transition accelerator,” that will assist developing countries in adopting cleaner forms of energy. The initiative will deliver trillions of dollars of investment to poorer nations in an effort to cut fossil fuel emissions and reduce the severity of climate disasters.
- UN Climate Change High-Level Champions called for action across three Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Outcomes for Finance: for public finance actors to increase the volume and share of adaptation and resilience finance, for private finance actors to help mobilize the $140 billion to $300 billion needed annually by 2030, and for insurers to institutionalize a longer-term industry approach to adaptation and resilience.
- China climate envoy Xie Zhenhua remarked that it is “the responsibility of the US” to “clear the barriers” in reconciliation and have productive climate talks. Zhenhua also said that China would potentially participate in contributing funds to developing countries and assist with climate-related loss and damage.
- Leaders from Western Indian nations shared progress on the Great Blue Wall, which had been officially launched at COP26 in Glasgow. Two seascapes (Quirimbas Seascape in Mozambique and Tanga Pemba Seascape in Tanzania) were officially designated.
Notable Quotes
- Antonio Pedro, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa
- “We need to change the African narratives from a country of challenges to a continent of opportunities… We must invest in the green recovery, ensure just energy transition to universal access to electricity. We must build agriculture and food systems.”
- “Adaptation is Africa’s primary concern, and this should be reflected in the structuring of conditional climate finance, requiring at least 50% of available finance to support climate change adaptation in Africa. Based on the rich African natural capital, the blue economy offers important opportunities, and the Great Brue Wall initiative represents a fantastic lever.”
- “It’s about moving from demonstrating what is possible to rising to another level of scale and ambition so that we have a combination of nature conservation and the empowerment of local communities to have sustainable livelihoods.”
- Mahmoud Mohieldin (@UNenvoyMM), UN Climate Change High-Level Champion, Egypt
- “Oceans are the world’s largest heat sink; they absorb around 90% of the excess heat caused by climate change and they are also very efficient carbon sinks, absorbing 23% of human-caused carbon emissions. Oceans are our biggest ally in the fight against climate action, but unfortunately, we are compromising this solution by not protecting them.”
- “We can now show that a meaningful pipeline of investible opportunities does exist across the economies that need finance most… We now need a creative collaboration between project developers and public, private and concessionary finance, to unlock this investment potential and turn assets into flows.”
- Wavel Ramkalawan (@StateHouseSey), President, Seychelles
- “Like other islands, we contribute less to the destruction of the planet, yet we suffer the most. For example, the carbon emissions of Seychelles are very low, and we clean up through our mangroves and seagrass meadows, thus making us a zero contributor to the destruction of the planet, yet our islands are disappearing and our coasts are being destroyed.”
- “The Great Blue Wall Initiative is significantly deemed as the nexus of climate change adaptation, conservation, and the Blue Economy – it is the solution to further longevity and prosperity of a ‘Blue’ world.”
- “It is up to us to build this ‘Great Blue Wall’ and to build resilience through common actions in the face of common threats, for after all, we share the basic needs to feed our people, our families now and in the future. In order for this need to be effectively satisfied, it is imperative that our environmental integrity remains intact.”
- Inger Andersen (@andersen_inger), Executive Director, UN Environment Programme
- “Years of warnings about the impacts of climate change have become a reality. If we do not rapidly cut emissions in line with the Paris agreement, we will be in deeper trouble.”
- “The buildings sector represents 40 percent of Europe’s energy demand, 80 percent of it from fossil fuels. This makes the sector an area for immediate action, investment, and policies to promote short and long-term energy security.”
- “The solution [to rising fossil fuel costs] may lie in governments directing relief towards low and zero-carbon building investment activities through financial and non-financial incentives.”
- Al Gore (@algore), Founder of the Climate Reality Project and Former Vice President of the United States
- “Two months ago in September, at the UN General Assembly, the Secretary-General told us about the heat waves in Europe, the floods in Pakistan, the severe droughts… and he linked it all correctly as the price of humanity’s fossil fuel addiction.”
- “The potential for wind and solar is 400 times larger than Africa’s total fossil fuel reserves and it comes pollution-free and creates more jobs, but there is a finance gap… That is why there is so much attention at this COP to changing the global capital allocation system.”
- Luisa Neubauer (@Luisamneubauer), Climate Activist, Germany
- “Don’t come here and talk of climate action as long as you [world leaders] engage in any new fossil fuel infrastructure across the globe. Don’t come here and speak of climate justice as fossil fuel funding is exploding. Don’t come here to try to explain that money might be short for adaptation and loss and damage while fossil fuel investments around the world are skyrocketing, day by day.”
Implementation Summit (November 7-8)
The Implementation Summit will include an official opening ceremony, round tables and high-level side events and delivery of national statements.
Roundtable Sessions (November 8, 12:00 PM UTC+2:00): Investing in the Future of Energy: Green Hydrogen, Water Security, and Climate Change and the Sustainability of Vulnerable Communities
The Government of Egypt will convene three high-level round tables to be attended by Heads of State and Governments, Heads of observer organizations and specially invited guests. Discussions will pertain to climate adaptation and mitigation, transitioning to hydrogen energy sources, and water security.
- At the Investing in the Future of Energy: Green Hydrogen roundtable, Egypt and Belgium announced the launch of the Global Renewable Hydrogen Forum to foster dialogue between hydrogen-producing countries and hydrogen-consuming ones—as well as with the private sector and other key organizations. Egypt and Norway also announced a joint green hydrogen project, whose first phase includes the establishment of a major plant in Egypt.
- At the Climate Change and the Sustainability of Vulnerable Communities roundtable, the devastating floods in Pakistan were held up as an example of the need for adaptation. Private sector groups called upon governments to assist in supporting adaptation efforts.
- At the Water Security roundtable, focus turned to Sustainable Development Goal 6, to “[e]nsure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” Parties showcased examples of projects to this end, and the issue of scalability was discussed.
Delivery of National Statements (November 8, 10:30 AM UTC+02:00)
62 Heads of State and Government will deliver their national statements.
- Kausea Natano (@TuvaluPM), Prime Minister, Tuvalu
- “The climate emergency can be reduced to two basic concepts – time and temperature. It is getting too hot and there is barely time to slow and reverse it.”
- “The warming seas are starting to swallow our lands — inch by inch. But the world’s addiction to oil, gas and coal can’t sink our dreams under the waves. We, therefore, unite with a hundred Nobel Peace Prize laureates and thousands of scientists worldwide and urge world leaders to join the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to manage a just transition away from fossil fuels.”
- Shehbaaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz), Prime Minister, Pakistan
- “This COP rings an alarm bell for humanity; it is the only platform where the survival of the human race as a goal still holds promise. It is also the forum where we as vulnerable countries take our case to the rich and the resourced to build a road map to crucial policy resets needed in a world that is burning up faster than our capacity for recovery.”
- “The world is burning up faster than our capacity for recovery… The current financing gap is too high to sustain any real recovery needs of those on the frontlines of climate catastrophe.”
- “Climate finance must be clearly defined, with new additional and sustained resources through a clear mechanism that meets the needs of developing countries with the speed and scale that’s required.”
- Gastone Browne (@gastonbrowne), Prime Minister, Antigua & Barbuda
- “It is about time that these [oil and gas] companies are made to pay a global carbon tax on their profits as a source of funding for loss and damage. Profligate producers of fossil fuels have benefitted from extortionate profits at the expense of human civilization. While they are profiting, the planet is burning.”
- Mohammad Shtayyeh (@DrShtayyeh), Prime Minister, Palestine
- “It is imperative for the countries of the [Middle East] region and the world to change the behavior of governments, the private sector, industries and individuals, to meet the challenge of climate change, and to adapt to its repercussions, based on the fact that they are more developmental and economic threats than mere environmental threats.”
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa), President, Ukraine
- “There can be no effective climate policy without the peace. The Russian war has brought about an energy crisis that has forced dozens of countries to resume coal-fired power generation in order to lower energy costs for their people, to lower prices that are shockingly rising due to deliberate Russian actions.”
- “There are still many for whom climate change is just rhetoric or marketing, not real action. They are the ones who hamper the implementation of climate goals; they are the ones who in their offices make fun of those who fight to save life on the planet… They are the ones who start wars of aggression when the planet cannot afford a single gunshot, because it needs global joint action.”
- Charles Michel (@eucopresident), President, European Council
- “The Kremlin has decided to use the energy sector as a weapon. They are aiming this tool as a target toward Europe. The Kremlin has decided to instrumentalize the food industry and fertilizers against us, and this directly impacts developing countries. This war is teaching us we need to fade away from fossil fuels.”
- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen), President, European Commission
- “Let us not take the highway to hell. Let us earn the clean ticket to heaven that is our responsibility. And for Europe, the answer is REPowerEU. We are not just cutting our dependency on Russian fossil fuels… we are massively accelerating the rollout of renewables.”
- “Those in need of the developing world must be supported in adapting to a harsher climate. We must urge our partners in the global north to stand by their climate finance commitments in the global south.”
- Xie Zhenhua, President Xi Jinping’s Special Representative; and Special Envoy for Climate Change, China
- “No matter how much the external environment changes, and no matter how many challenges we face, China has firm determination to achieve this vision of carbon neutrality.”
Delivery of National Statements (November 7, 2:00 PM UTC+02:00)
48 Heads of State and Government will deliver their national statements.
- António Guterres (@antonioguterres), Secretary-General, United Nations
- “The clock is ticking. We are in the fight of our lives. And we are losing… We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.”
- “Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish. It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact – or a Collective Suicide Pact.”
- “It is time for international solidarity across the board. Solidarity that respects all human rights and guarantees a safe space for environmental defenders and all actors in society to contribute to our climate response. Let’s not forget that the war on nature is in itself a massive violation of human rights.”
- “The global climate fight will be won or lost in this crucial decade – on our watch.”
- Mohamed bin Zayed (@MohamedBinZayed), President, United Arab Emirates
- “The UAE is known as a responsible supplier of energy and will continue to play this role for as long as the world needs oil and gas. We will focus on lowering carbon emissions emanating from this sector.”
- Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein (@KingAbdullahII), King, Jordan
- “Rising temperatures and water scarcity have put heavy pressure on our limited resources – resources strained further by an unnatural population growth driven by the massive influx of refugees.”
- “Good or bad, the world’s climate is indivisible; so must we be. In the fight for life on Earth, no one is a bystander; every contribution counts. COP27 has brought us together, to link forces and stand our ground.”
- Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog), President, Israel
- Climate change “is an issue that is not only existential for all of us, it’s also an issue that transcends politics and borders, and is perhaps the only issue that can unite humankind.”
- “Israel is prepared to lead the effort toward regional climate resilience. I intend to spearhead the development of what I term a Renewable Middle East – a regional ecosystem of sustainable peace.”
- Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron), President, France
- “Taking action for the climate means regulating, and regulating at the international level. If we don’t set a price for carbon, there will be no transition. Therefore, we need to factor the environment in the cost of investment, in our regional investment, in our regional markets, and in our trade relations. There can be no credible and sustainable environmental action if there is no social and climate justice.”
- “Even if our world has changed, the climate issue cannot be a balancing item of the war unleashed by Russia on Ukrainian soil… We will not sacrifice our commitments to the climate due to the Russian threat in terms of energy so all countries must continue to uphold all their commitments.”
- Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak), Prime Minister, United Kingdom
- “When we began our COP Presidency, just one third of the global economy was signed up to net zero. Today it’s 90 percent. And for our part, the U.K., which was the first major economy in the world to legislate for net zero, will fulfill our ambitious commitment to reduce emissions by at least 68 per cent by 2030.”
- “But I can tell you today that the United Kingdom is delivering on our commitment of £11.6 billion [toward climate funding and reaching net zero emissions]. And as part of this – we will now triple our funding on adaptation to £1.5 billion by 2025.”
- “Listen to Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados, as she describes the existential threat posed by the ravages of climate change. Or look at the devastating floods in Pakistan where the area underwater is the same size as the whole United Kingdom. When you see 33 million people displaced with disease rife and spreading through the water, you know it is morally right to honour our promises. But it is also economically right too. Climate security goes hand in hand with energy security. Putin’s abhorrent war in Ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change. They are a reason to act faster.”
- Macky Sall (@Macky_Sall), President, Senegal; Chair, African Union
- “We have come, as Africans, to Sharm el-Sheikh, in order to save our planet…We are determined to make history, rather than simply be victims, passive onlookers of history.”
- “Even if Africa contributes less than 4% of greenhouse gasses, it subscribes to frugal development of carbon, resilient to climate change, for a goal of carbon neutrality in a reasonable timeframe. We are for a green transition that is equitable and just, instead of decisions that jeopardize our development, including universal access to electricity to which 600 million Africans remain deprived.”
- Mia Mottley (@miaamormottley), Prime Minister, Barbados
- “We were the ones whose blood, sweat and tears financed the industrial revolution. Are we now to face double jeopardy by having to pay the cost as a result of those greenhouse gasses from the industrial revolution? That is fundamentally unfair.”
- “How do companies make $200 billion in profits in the last three months and not expect to contribute at least 10 cents on every dollar to a loss a damage fund? This is what our people expect.”
- “The Global South remains at the mercy of the Global North on these issues. What will our choice be? We have the power to act or the power to remain passive and do nothing. I pray that we will leave Egypt with a clear understanding that the things that are facing us today are interconnected.”
Roundtable Sessions (November 7, 1:30 PM UTC+2:00): Just Transition, Food Security, and Innovative Finance for Climate and Development
The Government of Egypt will convene three high-level round tables to be attended by Heads of State and Governments, Heads of observer organizations and specially invited guests. Discussions will pertain to the integration of sustainable social and economic development with climate change responses, resilience in agricultural productivity, and bridging the climate finance gap.
- At the Food Security roundtable, the International Finance Corporation announced its global food security platform, a $6 billion financing facility. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged a $1.4 billion investment to aid smallholder farmers, especially women, with digital technologies.
- At the Innovative Finance roundtable, many leaders discussed increasing concessional finance toward climate mitigation through IMF’s special drawing rights, through which member states might borrow from each other’s reserves with low interest.
- At the Just Transition roundtable, participants discussed the need for funds—especially from multilateral financing—and capacity building toward a transition to cleaner energy that brings along disadvantaged communities.