Climate change is now a fact of life. All around the world, its ecological and social repercussions are clear as more frequent instances of severe weather extremes like heat waves or flooding are now contributing to a rise in social injustice.
The largest annual conference on climate action, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) took place in the Egyptian city, Sharm el-Sheikh between November 6 to November 18 2022 and was attended by heads of state, ministers, and negotiators, as well as climate activists, mayors, civil organizations, and CEOs of different corporations. Over 92 heads of state and over 35,000 delegates from 190 nations attended, and it was presided over by Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry. This was recorded as Africa’s first climate meeting since 2016.
The COP27 spurred reinvigorated international cooperation to implement the historic Paris Agreement for people and the environment in the face of a worsening energy dilemma, rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and an increase in severe weather occurrences.
The following primary subject matters were on the COP27 agenda:
· Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases
· Adaptation and resilience to climate change effects
· Damage and loss funding
· Climatic financing
Accordingly, the COP27's objective was to encourage the international community in cooperating to uphold the 1.5-degree Celsius target. This agreement is aimed at reducing emission in all sectors to achieve this goal and hasten the global energy policy shift by 2030.
COP27 talks ended with a historic deal on loss and damage, providing financial assistance to poor nations most affected by climate disaster. António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, welcomed the decision and praised the fund, but he emphasized that more must be done right once to substantially decrease emissions. In terms of climate ambition, "the world still needs a tremendous leap". The U-turn on loss and damage by historical blockers such as the EU and US is a huge step towards climate justice. It will likely take until the COP28 to agree on the details of how the fund will work.
Additionally, over 50% of the tropical rainforests in the world are found in Brazil, Indonesia, and Congo; these three nations at the COP27, committed to establish a financial structure for protection of the tropical rainforest. Ministers from these countries declared that they would work together to restore vital ecosystems, manage forests sustainably, and build economies that would protect both human and forest health.
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