Lauren Boland reports from COP27

COP27 HAS OFFICIALLY opened in Egypt with a ceremony that pressed upon attendees the need to implement solutions that protect the lives of millions of people facing imminent risks due to the climate crisis.

The UN summit has handed over the presidency of the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) from the United Kingdom, which hosted the convention last year in Glasgow, to Egypt.

Delegates gathered in the main plenary hall this morning to attend the opening ceremony, which commenced nearly two hours later than scheduled.

In his speech, COP26 President Alok Sharma emphasised that the world is not currently on target to reach the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

He said that leaders around the world have “faced competing priorities this year”, but that inaction cannot be accepted, asking: “How many more wake-up calls do world leaders actually need?”

Sharma – who was a member of the UK Cabinet in his capacity as COP26 President but was dropped by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – pointed to extreme weather events this year in Pakistan, Nigeria, Europe, the US, and China.

“This conference must be about concrete action and I hope that when the world leaders join us, they will explain clearly what their countries have achieved in the last year and how they will go further,” he said.

One of the most important issues at this year’s conference is loss and damage, a term that refers to the devastating impacts the climate crisis is already having, particularly in small island states and least developed countries.

Developed countries are signed up to a pledge to collectively provide $100 billion in climate finance for developing countries each year – but the target has never been met and conversations on what is necessary now are overtaking it. 

“We know that we have reached a point where finance makes or breaks the programme of work that we have ahead of us,” Sharma said.

“Whilst I would point to some of the progress  on the $100 billion, I hear the criticisms and agree that more must be done.”

“Ultimately though, I remain hopeful.”

Similarly, COP27 President Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, said that the summit must find solutions that show the world is “serious about not leaving anyone behind”.

He too pointed to other global challenges, saying that COP is happening this year “amid political tensions that left a deep impact on all our countries, namely the crisis in energy and food supplies”.

However, “if some people think that such challenges will hamper international collective action in the field of climate action, we here in Sharm El-Sheikh need to prove the contrary”.

“As I assume my presidency of the COP, I draw your attention to two undeniable facts,” he said.

“First, climate change related efforts over the past decades were remarkably polarised, which has slowed down progress of the negotiations.

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“Second, the current mobilisation efforts raise many concerns. The $100 billion per year pledge has not yet been implemented.

The new COP27 President said that “we do not have the luxury of continuing in this way”.

“We have to work diligently and honestly and listen to one another.

“The leaders of the world will flock to this venue to express their commitment to face up to climate change.

“Steps away from the venue where our leaders convene, two weeks of important negotiations will start. These negotiations will hopefully be fruitful. I call upon all of you to listen carefully and commit to implementation and turn [ambition] into statements and understandings and texts and resolutions that we can all implement.

I call upon all of you to fully be aware that we are not embarking on negotiations that are detached from reality. Zero-sum games will have no winners. Our mission is much more than this.

“The implications of our work will affect the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the world who have been suffering from climate change around the world, so we cannot afford any negligence.”

Heads of states and governments will arrive at the conference tomorrow and Wednesday for the World Leaders’ Summit, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin who is due to give a speech on Ireland’s role on Tuesday afternoon.

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