Kaveh Guilanpour on the conclusion of COP27

Statement of Kaveh Guilanpour
Vice President of International Strategies, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

November 20, 2022

On the conclusion of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh:

“Against all the odds, and after protracted and tense negotiations that extended well past its scheduled end date, countries at COP27 reached agreement on a way forward on providing loss and damage finance to help the world’s most vulnerable countries cope with the devastating impacts of climate change, as well as on a work programme to urgently scale up and implement action to reduce emissions.

“That this outcome was achieved in the face of great geopolitical and economic challenges shows that addressing the climate crisis remains at the top of global political priorities. And that is perhaps the most important signal from COP27. There has been no backsliding.

“The agreement on loss and damage finance – a highly contentious issue and the top demand of developing countries — will offer a glimmer of hope to the most vulnerable people around the world, who are already suffering the devasting impacts of human caused climate change.

“Importantly COP27 has also agreed on a work programme to urgently scale up and implement action to reduce emissions in what has been called the ‘critical decade’ – a decade in which emissions of carbon dioxide need to be cut in half, consistent with achieving global net zero emissions by 2050.

“While the conference’s achievements do not fully respond to the urgency of the climate emergency, they do help to accelerate us along the path toward doing so.

“Achieving a significant outcome at COP27 was always going to be difficult, given both the high expectations of responding to the gap in ambition needed to stay on track to remain within the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit of the Paris Agreement, combined with the thin negotiating outcomes mandated for delivery in Sharm El-Sheikh. COP27 was never going to end in a fanfare. But it has ended in modest but real success, despite the challenging context.”

To reach a C2ES expert, contact Alec Gerlach at press@c2es.org.

About C2ES: The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) works to secure a safe and stable climate, by accelerating the global transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and a thriving, just, and resilient economy. Learn more at www.c2es.org.

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