UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) in Egypt

At the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27), held in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt from 6 to 20 November 2022, delegates from 197 countries, civil society and other institutions discussed and negotiated the further implementation of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The International Climate Initiative (IKI) attended the conference again this year, and participated in a wide range of topics and formats.

Climate change has long become reality. Its ecological and social consequences are apparent in all regions of the world: Severe weather extremes such as heat or flooding are occurring more frequently, causing an increase in social injustice. Countries most significantly affected include those in the Global South, even though some of these have contributed little to greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting climate change.

The pandemic and the war against Ukraine are intensifying climate change

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and energy policy and the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine are intensifying the negative effects of climate change, consequently amplifying poverty and hunger in the world. Although Russia’s military action now tops the agenda for global political debate in many areas, it did not overshadow the negotiations in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Yet the results of COP27 were something of a mixed bag. While the progress made in COP26 (2021 in Glasgow, Scotland) was maintained, a significant shortfall in terms of both ambition and implementation remains before the 1.5 °C limit can be achieved.

COP27 results

As a member of the EU negotiating team at this COP, Germany was keen to demonstrate ambition for climate action in solidarity with affected countries, acting as a bridge builder towards a major coalition seeking to achieve a climate-secure world. The European Union (EU) worked to once again strengthen the alliance of advanced economies from all over the world – from Pacific Island states to countries from Africa and Latin America threatened by climate change.

Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions: The Cover Decision reached repeats the wording from COP26 in Glasgow that references a phased exit from the use of coal. While an exit from all fossil energy sources and peak global emissions by 2025 seemed within reach, this target could not be agreed on. Instead, the decision contained an appeal to all signatory states to tighten their national 2030 climate goals by 2023, if they had not yet done so. The central role played by renewable energy for climate change mitigation worldwide is now also recognised.

A Mitigation Work Programme (MWP) has also been established to help countries work together to close the ambition and mitigation gap by 2030 – this implies halving global emissions instead of the predicted further increase in emissions of around 14 percent.

During COP, a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) was also agreed with Indonesia at the G20 summit in Bali. Public and private funds totalling USD 20 billion will be provided to Indonesia to bring its energy transition forward by ten years.

Climate finance: The focus here was on the request made by developing economies for larger and more reliable sums of climate finance, including a doubling of the adaptation finance to be provided up to 2025, as agreed in Glasgow. Back in 2009, developed countries had already agreed to collectively make USD 100 billion available annually for developing countries from 2020 onwards. This target has not been met to date (2020: USD 83.3 billion), especially since the mobilisation of private climate finance was not as successful as expected. The conference also marked the first discussion of the development of a new post-2025 climate finance target by policy-makers. COP was also marked by countries agreeing to discuss the alignment of private and public financial flows with Paris Agreement targets for mitigation and adaptation. The Cover Decision also calls for a transformation of the financial system.

Adjustment to inevitable consequences of climate change: Alongside the Global Goal on Adaptation, a framework is also to be agreed by COP28 that is intended to accompany the achievement of global adaptation and evaluate the progress made towards this goal. Germany is contributing to the goal of doubling adaptation finance and is increasing its donation to the Global Adaptation Fund by EUR 60 million.

Climate change-driven loss and damage: The decision to set up a fund as part of a larger portfolio of support mechanisms represents a breakthrough in the support offered to developing countries, and an overdue acknowledgement at policy level of the urgency with which more and improved support should be offered for managing loss and damage (no legal rights to compensation/reparations). This agreement is the key success achieved by COP27.

The operationalisation of the Santiago Network formed at COP25 was also agreed. This brings relevant actors (UN organisations, development banks, etc.) together in order to develop better financial solutions for loss and damage.

Nature-based solutions (NBS): Following the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2), which was held in early 2022 in Nairobi, COP27 was also able to include NBS in the Cover Decision.

The IKI will build on the COP achievements, and investigate how an increase in ambition and accelerated NDC implementation, adaptation and other COP results can be incorporated into the IKI strategy and the design of the next IKI calls funding round.

Conclusion of COP27

Joint press release by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection on the conclusion of COP27.

Press release

German Pavilion

Ambition in Solidarity is the central theme of the German Pavilion at COP27 this year.

German Climate Pavilion

Links

Official COP27 website

United Nations Climate Change

The International Climate Initiative at the COP27

The International Climate Initiative (IKI) is a key instrument of the German Federal Government for the international financing of climate action and the conservation of biodiversity:

In developing and emerging countries throughout the world, IKI projects support solution strategies aimed at implementing and ambitiously developing the targets from the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) set out in the Paris Agreement. The funding programme was therefore also present at COP27.

Strengthening cooperation with partner countries

During the conference in Egypt, the IKI spoke to representatives of its partner countries, such as Thailand, for example, organised a networking evening for its international implementing organisations and presented the latest developments in the funding programme at a high-level event.

IKI projects were showcased in many side events

In addition, numerous IKI projects hosted side events or participated in other events to present their work.

As in previous years, this year’s UN Climate Change Conference offered the projects a welcome opportunity to engage in dialogue and to network, whether at the event itself in Sharm-el-Sheikh or in the context of numerous virtual formats.