COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, ended on Sunday 20 November with mixed results, linked to the gap between the creation of an aid fund for poor countries affected by climate change and the lack of commitment to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. The official reactions at the end of the conference testify to this ambivalent feeling.
- “Clearly not enough” for the UN
“We need to drastically reduce emissions now, and that’s a question this COP hasn’t answered”, regretted the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres. However, he hailed as “an important step towards justice” the creation of the fund for loss and damage: “It will clearly not be enough, but it is a much needed political signal to rebuild broken trust. »
- “The world will not thank us”, regrets the EU
Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission, expressed his disappointment even more clearly at the end of the conference: “The world won’t thank us when it only hears excuses tomorrow. » In his address to the final plenary session, he said:
“What we have here is too short a step forward for the inhabitants of the planet. It does not provide enough additional efforts on the part of the main emitters to increase and accelerate their reduction of emissions. »
- “We fought for thirty years” for this fund, recall the G77 and the island states
The principle of financial aid to help the most vulnerable countries was a victory for the “G77 + China” group, which represents developing countries. Its president, Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s climate change minister, whose country
faced unprecedented flooding during the summer, welcomed the outcome of a very old request. “We have been struggling for thirty years and today, in Sharm El-Sheikh, this epic has given birth to its first positive result. Establishing a fund is not about charity. »
This feeling of victory is shared by Antigua and Barbuda’s environment minister, Molwyn Joseph, who represented the interests of the alliance of small island states (Aosis): “Aosis had promised the world not to leave Sharm El-Sheikh without succeeding in establishing a loss and damage response fund. This thirty-year mission is now accomplished. »
- “The influence of the fossil sector” lamented
The organization of the conference in Sharm El-Sheikh drew critical comments, such as the reaction of Laurence Tubiana, French leader of the European Climate Foundation: “The influence of the fossil fuel sector was omnipresent. This COP has weakened the obligations for countries to present new and more ambitious commitments. » The record number of lobbyists in this industry (636 representatives) was denounced during the conference. Laurence Tubiana, who led the negotiations leading to the 2015 Paris agreement, nevertheless welcomes the “significant breakthrough” what is the fund for loss and damage, “which was just a dream at COP26 last year”.
- Young people and civil society “have not been able to make their voices heard”
Another regret was expressed by the representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and associations present at the COP: the lack of space given by the Egyptian authorities to civil society. Vanessa Nakate, a young Ugandan activist notes as well as “young people have not been able to make their voices heard due to protest restrictions but our movement is growing”.
- “The devil will be in the details”, warns an NGO
Finally, beyond the symbolic aspect of the agreement, the NGO Christian Aid recalls that the implementation of this “positive step forward towards climate justice” should be carefully scrutinized in the future: “It has been a long struggle for developed countries to get this fund, the devil will be in the details and money still needs to be poured in. »