COP27 is an opportunity to create a political space to acknowledge the complex changes happening in the environment and move towards delivering world change.
COP27 is an opportunity to create a political space to acknowledge the complex changes happening in the environment and move towards delivering world change. The UN Climate Change Conference begins on Sunday in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, and the conference will alter the focus of the world on implementing the agreed plans for confronting the complex geopolitical problems, states the new executive secretary of the UN climate convention, Simon Stiell, during the official opening of COP27.
Mr. Stiell also emphasized that the leaders including the prime ministers’, presidents, and other officials of higher authority will be persuaded to follow the promises they made the previous year in Glasgow. “Today a new era begins, and we begin to do things differently” states Simon Stiell and added that with the Katowice and Glasgow plans and Paris agreement, Sharm el-Sheik focus will be on the implementation of the required measures on the decisions taken earlier. “No one can be a mere passenger on this journey”. This is an indication that times have changed, Mr. Stiell told envoys assembled in the Tonino Lamborghini International Convention Center, Egypt.
The UNFCC convention entered into force on March 21, 1994, with the intention of preventing hazardous human interference with the climate system. Around 190 countries have joined in the effort and the Paris Agreement in 2016, will act as an extension of that convention. “Because our policies, our businesses, our infrastructure, our actions, be they personal or public, must be aligned with the Paris Agreement and with the [UN Climate] Convention”, stated Simon Stiell.
The official opening ceremony of COP27 saw the emphasis on three critical lines of action:
- Establish a ‘transformation shift to implementation’ by putting discussions into tangible actions.
- Demonstrate progress in essential areas like finance, mitigation, and adaptation.
- Augment the delivery of progress by implementing accountability and transparency.
Simon Stiell also stated that around 29 countries have come forward with improved climate plans after COP26, but still lack being the majority. He further adds on looking forward to the remaining countries that are yet to revise and strengthen their pledges this year.
COP27 is attended by world leaders including Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak, the newly appointed Prime minister of Britain, marking his first international stage in Egypt after becoming the UK PM. Rishi Sunak will disclose more than £200m in funding to protect green technologies and forests in developing countries. COP27 President Sameh Shoukry asked delegates present to develop their ambition and begin executing the required actions.
“Moving from negotiations and pledges to an era of implementation is a priority,” says Sameh Shoukry after commending the countries which have revealed the renewed national climate plans. He also added that finance must be given priority and urged the developed countries to provide the required assistance to developing countries.
The repercussions of the negotiations will affect the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across the world experiencing the effect of climate change. Inattention and inadequacies would have serious consequences and could threaten the lives of the future generation. The next two weeks will see the discussion of varied topics on the agenda of COP27.
The extreme changes in climate cause flash floods, cyclones, rising sea levels, and desertification which is becoming more and more rampant in the present day causing costly damage to countries. The rise in green gas emissions mostly from industrially developed countries affects developing countries and the lives of their people, who have long argued that they deserve compensation. The COP27 will have extensive discussions on the issue of these expenses known as “loss and damage”.