That’s why Egypt’s COP27 climate summit is so important – and yet the United States wants to throw Iran out of the UN Commission on Women’s Rights

The 27th World Climate Conference will take place in 2022 in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh. After a year of environmental disasters around the world, it is clearer than ever: climate protection must be a priority. The World Climate Summit is considered equally important.

For two weeks, from November 6-18, the countries of the world will negotiate with tens of thousands of negotiators, government representatives, NGOs, CEOs and citizens about what climate protection measures they can take to control man-made global warming. This year’s conference is hosted by Egypt.

Watson has researched for you why COP27 is so important, what exactly is being negotiated and what needs to be achieved.

Which countries are participating in the world climate conference?

195 countries and the EU participate in the world climate conference. The English term COP27 stands for “Conference of the Parties” – a meeting of all contracting parties under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

What are the objectives of the World Climate Conference?

The focus of the negotiations should be on the practical implementation of the phase-out of coal, gas and oil decided at the last climate conference in 2021.

In addition to calling for coal to be phased out, the Climate Pact also calls for the elimination of “inefficient” subsidies for oil, gas and coal. In addition, in their final statement, the countries have once again committed themselves to the goal of limiting global warming to “if possible” 1.5 degrees. To achieve this, about 200 countries had announced that they would reduce global emissions by 45 percent by 2030 from 2010 levels.

Conference on climate protection?

But the fact that Europe is at war and the world is deep in an energy crisis – and unfortunately also in a renaissance of climate-damaging energy sources – could also have an impact on this year’s COP.

At a meeting of the African Union in mid-June, the energy ministers of African countries – with the support of their European counterparts – approved an internal document to prepare for COP27.

As the “Spiegel” reported, it said, “In the short to medium term, fossil fuels, especially natural gas, will have to play a decisive role in expanding access to modern energy.” Although “phase-out measures” were also mentioned, but postponed due to the “disadvantaged position of Africa”. According to the “Spiegel” this means: “fossil energy projects now, climate protection later”.

1.5 degree limit can be
barely hold

But there is no more time for “later”. A report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) estimates that 1.5 degrees could be exceeded by 2026. According to the research, there is a 50 percent chance that this will happen at least once in the next five years. That would have serious consequences. Because the 1.5 degree limit was not chosen arbitrarily: it marks a point where climate effects are becoming increasingly harmful to humans and the entire planet and tipping points can be irrevocably crossed.

But even warming to 1.5 degrees means a worsening of the current situation. The global temperature has risen “only” by 1.2 degrees. The disasters that are already happening all over the world show that every tenth degree counts.

How long has the UN Climate Change Conference been in existence?

The first climate conference took place in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With a short break until 1995, the 200 or so states now meet each year in a different city. Well-known meetings where special decisions were taken took place in Kyoto in 1997, in Copenhagen in 2009 and in Paris in 2015, where the countries committed themselves to the 1.5 degree target for the first time.

COP27 is therefore the 27th meeting of States Parties.

How does the world climate conference work?

During the two-week conference, state and government representatives will focus on a different topic each day, starting with finance, science and then youth.

The entire COP27 program can be found here. The conference kicks off with speeches from several heads of state, who will invoke the urgency of tackling the climate crisis and offer suggestions on how to mitigate the crisis. At the end of the conference, an annual closing communiqué is presented, summarizing the most important decisions and agreements.

World Climate Conference takes place in two different zones

The COP27 takes place in two different zones: the blue and green zone. The blue zone is reserved for country representatives for formal negotiations.

The green zone is accessible to the general public. There, companies, indigenous peoples, activists, environmental organizations and artists can talk, find workshops, performances and panels. A program has not yet been published.

How much will the climate conference really bring?

While the last COP26 world climate conference has made some progress, the changes necessary to prevent further disasters have not yet resulted in a full 26 meetings.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg criticized the results of the latest climate conference on Twitter as follows:

Criticism of the World Climate Conference

Criticism of the UN climate conference is not only voiced by climate activists, but by the broad masses. Then central Conference critics complain that decisions must be made unanimously by all 195 participating stateswhich makes it very difficult to implement measures and resolutions.

In addition, people from the South havewho contribute least to the climate crisis but are hit hardest by it, say too little according to climate activists. Their countries are usually represented by significantly smaller delegations than the industrialized countries, which also reduces their ability to exert influence.