Representatives from almost 200 countries leave this Sunday in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, to discuss climate change and the fight against global warming, when catastrophe alerts multiply.
In what is the 27th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27), which ends on the 18th, more than 35,000 participants are expected, with 2,000 scheduled interventions on more than 300 topics.
One of the interventions will be that of the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, who arrives in Sharm el-Sheik this Sunday and will be at COP27 on Monday and Tuesday, where he will defend a more inclusive transition and a more balanced distribution of financing. according to a diplomatic source.
Not many world leaders are expected at the conference in Egypt, although the presence of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, who initially said he was not present, but revealed four days ago. that he will go to Sharm el-Sheikh. The last conference, COP26, took place in the UK.
COP27, which marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, in its original acronym), basically maintains the same objectives as other summits since 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed. in limiting global warming. at 02ºC (degrees centigrade) and if possible at 1.5ºC. But it takes place in the midst of a political, energy, food and economic crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The UN itself recognizes that this situation may represent a setback in the promises and commitments that some countries assumed in the past. But he also says it could be a wake-up call for nations to become energy self-sufficient, with renewables being the cheapest way to do so.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the planet is on track to “reach tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible”, and called for more ambition for COP27.
“Emissions continue to grow at record levels. (…) Meanwhile, temperatures are on track to rise by as much as 2.8 degrees by the end of the century. And that means our planet (…) will suffocate forever in a catastrophic situation rise in temperature,” he warned.
For this reason, the COP27 organization asks countries to review their contributions to reduce greenhouse gases, and also to invest in mitigation, adaptation and support for less developed countries.
And he says “significant progress on the crucial issue of climate finance” is essential. The conference will highlight the issue of loss and damage, which consists of compensating countries for catastrophes caused by climate change, which mainly affect the poorest countries.
A UN report released on Thursday said the gap between funds allocated to reduce developing countries’ exposure to the impacts of global warming “continues to widen” and actual needs are growing.
In addition to the “big issues”, the Egyptian presidency of COP27 scheduled thematic days and side events, dedicated to topics such as finance, science, youth, decarbonization, biodiversity loss, water, agriculture, water or energy.
Source: TSF
