The UN's COP27 climate summit kicked off its third day yesterday and some early signs of positive progress have been made:
- The Egyptian Presidency launched the ‘Sharm el-Sheikh Adaption Agenda’ to help 4 billion people adapt to climate change by 2030. The Adaptation Agenda is the first comprehensive global plan to rally both States and non-State actors behind a shared set of 30 Adaptation Outcomes that are required by the end of this decade across five impact systems: food and agriculture, water and nature, coastal and oceans, human settlements, and infrastructure, and including enabling solutions for planning and finance.
- Progress on?Finance Sector Deforestation Action?was announced – a results-driven collaborative of over 35 financial institutions representing more than $8.9 trillion in assets under management. Signatory investors are stepping up?engagement with companies?and policymakers to tackle commodity-driven deforestation while also increasing investments in nature-based solutions and promoting convergence across climate and nature-related initiatives.
- A cohort of nine countries, including the UK, pledging to ramp up offshore wind production to tackle the energy and climate crisis.?Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and the US have joined the Global Offshore Wind Alliance at COP27, to work together to remove barriers to the development of offshore wind.
- The Polynesian Island state of Tuvalu has joined Vanuatu to call for an international treaty to phase out the use of fossil fuels. Tuvalu is only the second country in the world to call for what is formally known as the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty.
- Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has confirmed the UK will send ￡200m to African countries to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change.
- A new Africa Carbon Markets initiative (ACMI) was launched led by African leaders, CEO’s and carbon credit experts. The aim is to increase the continents participation in voluntary carbon markets.
Notwithstanding the positive news, the day highlighted a feeling that larger and richer countries should be doing more to help fight climate change.?
- Pakistan's Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif made an emotional plea calling on richer nations to help countries that are reeling from the effects of the climate crisis.?
- French President Emmanuel Macron added to this sentiment by saying: "We need the US and China to step up."
- This sentiment was conveyed by Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, who criticised industrialised nations for failing the developing world on the climate crisis.
Important factors at COP27 will be climate justice and the issue of loss and damage, caused by extreme weather. Developing nations will keep these issues in the spotlight over the coming two weeks.
