The Robertsbridge Download - November 2022 (COP27 Edition)

Welcome to The Robertsbridge Download, a monthly digest where we will provide you with a breakdown of the stories catching our attention in the world of sustainability.

?With COP27 coming to a close this month, we've looked at some of the major announcements made during the two weeks and what this will mean for how governments and businesses will tackle climate change in the months and years to come.

Taking the first steps to address 'loss and damage'

• Most outlets covering COP27 focused on the establishment of the loss-and-damage fund mechanism. The details and broader takeaways on this were bittersweet.
• The establishment came more than 30 years after small-island nations first proposed it. The overarching aim of the fund is to help climate-vulnerable countries considered to be developing.
• Fuelled by the devastating climate events over the past year and failure to deliver $100 billion in annual climate finance by 2020, "everyone agreed" on the need for loss and damage to be an agenda item.
• However, the parameters of the fund are less defined, with controversial decisions including who pays and benefits postponed until next year. While a step in the right direction, the detail remains to be seen on how this will work in practice.

But what else was agreed upon at COP27?

• Notable firsts came in the overarching COP cover decision with the mention of nature-based solutions, food, rivers and the right to a healthy environment.
• For agriculture and food security, a more robust mandate and a new lease of life were given through the Koroniva work programme. Simultaneously, it was the first time that pavilions were dedicated solely to food and agriculture.
• Transformation of the financial system and the role of the private sector were directly referenced, and convened stakeholders underlined a need for Multilateral Development banks to tailor their practices and priorities to address the global climate emergency.
• Shipping climate actions and the sector's evolution were highlighted above and beyond expectation with the launch of the Green Shipping Challenge and President Biden including it within his world leader's statement.
• In comparison to previous years, there was a noticeable uptick in interest in renewable energy. This was reflected in the number of deals made, with one-third more renewable deals than gas deals secured.
• For forestry, there were notable victories, with more than 26 countries joining a Forest and Climate Leaders' partnership to end deforestation by 2030. Simultaneously, the "big three tropical rainforest nations" of Brazil, the DRC and Indonesia formed an alliance for rainforest conservation at G20, which ran concurrently with COP.
• The 'Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda' was also released, which contained a global to-do list to improve the resiliency of people against climate-related risks.

Can the world keep 1.5°C alive?

• Overshadowing progress made in Egypt, and the portion of COP that drew the most criticism, was the final language that was landed on when discussing emissions and, by association, fossil fuels.
• Many parts of the text contained similar levels of ambition as displayed at COP26 in Glasgow, but the EU and other allies voiced concern about the lack of increased efforts to keep warming below 1.5°C. Additionally, fossil-fuel lobbies had sway in Sharm-El Sheikh, and the final text included 'low-emission energy' alongside renewables, providing a vital loophole for carbon capture and gas developers.
• The EU, the UK, and the members of the High Ambition Coalition of countries were also left hugely frustrated at the lack of progress on how to start to reduce emissions globally.
• Outside of the text, 150 nations committed to reducing methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030. Absences include China and India, with the former stating it will publish a national methane plan in the near future.

Now it's nature's turn in the spotlight at COP15

• Following COP27 in quick succession, largely due to delays caused by the pandemic, the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) will finally be held next month in Montreal.
• Governments will work to negotiate mandatory environmental disclosures, and many are hoping to agree on a similar deal to the 2015 Paris Agreement to protect nature.
• However, new data reported through CDP this year highlights that just over 30% of companies have made a public commitment or endorsed biodiversity-related initiatives, and more than half of those with public commitments have not yet made progress on them in the past year.
• Nature is the first line of defence, and so agreeing on a plan in line with the scale of the Paris Agreement will be essential to helping to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

How is next year's COP shaping up?

• Next year, COP28 will be hosted by the UAE. The agenda is expected to pick up where COP27 finished, including defining the form of the loss and damage fund. Fears are already surfacing in the media over the influence that oil producers will play during these talks. In anticipation of this, the UAE president spoke at COP27 and gave a statement, which noted that 'the UAE is a responsible energy supplier, and we will continue to play that role as we pursue a transition to alternate resources and technologies.'
• The UN's recently appointed UN climate chief, Simon Stiell, has also signalled that he intends to review the COP process and shake up the format of the annual international summit to ensure its as transparent and effective as possible.
• It will be interesting to see if the shake-up Stiell mentions will happen and how this will impact the format of COP and whether it will impact the delicate balance of interactions between the private sector and government officials that take place. Finally, as thoughts turn to COP28, we will be watching closely to see whether its location in one of the world's most oil-rich nations will enable a more frank and constructive conversation around fossil fuels to take place next year.

New useful resources:

?Below we have listed several resources that caught our attention during the conference. These will all be helpful reference points for businesses looking to make their climate progress and commitments more robust.

• ?ISO net-zero guidelines: The Guidelines provide a common reference for collective efforts, offering a global basis for harmonising, understanding and planning for net zero for state, regional, city and organisational actors.
• ?Net Zero Tracker: Provides an overview of the world's largest publicly traded companies by revenue and analyses the key components of their pledges to help deliver net zero.
• ?The Transition Plan Taskforce – Disclosure Framework: A sector-neutral framework that provides recommendations for companies and financial institutions to develop gold-standard transition plans. The Framework is open for consultation until 28 February 2023.
• ?High-level expert group commitments: The High?Level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities published a new report which sets out recommendations for how different stakeholders should be setting their own net-zero commitments to remove any risk of false claims, ambiguity and 'greenwash'. The HLEG outlines ten proposals and five guiding principles for non-state actors to consider while addressing the climate crisis.