'Youth' is the theme of Day 5 at COP27, the second of the 11 'themed days' in the two-week-long international climate summit taking place this year in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Among the stark warnings about the future of the planet, news also broke that more than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists were in attendance at the conference, an increases of more than 25 per cent from last year, reportedly outnumbering any country’s delegation with the exception of the UEA.
The previous day – ‘Finance Day’ – had been dominated by news of a possible warming in the relations between the US and China, although China did bring forward its date for peaking carbon emissions for building materials from 2030, reportedly disappointing the building materials sector as a whole, which wants to reach peak emissions by 2025. John Kerry’s carbon credit plan to drive climate finance in developing nations was also met with criticism, but the US climate envoy pointed out that private finance is required to pay for the transition as no government can afford to. Staying with the US, former Vice President Al Gore continued to stress that the markets are more powerful than any attempts by the US Republican party to bring about what he terms a ‘sustainability revolution’: “whatever politicians in different countries want to opine on, we’re seeing business and investors and markets move towards solutions for the climate crisis.”
Although much coverage around this COP is devoted to the resistance by the developed economies to paying ‘loss and damage’ to developing countries, there have been some positive announcements such as France and Germany signing €600 million loan agreements with South Africa to assist the country in its efforts to reduce reliance on coal and transition to cleaner energy sources.
Leading global experts from the natural and social sciences also presented a report on the latest climate change-related research this year and responds to clear calls for policy guidance during this critical decade. A key focus of the report - 10 New Insights in Climate Science - was the limits of humankind to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change, which include ever more frequent and severe drought, storms and floods.
Some useful resources
- An overview of the last 30 years of COPs by Guardian reporter Fiona Harvey (YouTube)
- The Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney emphasised the “moral obligation” on the world to act on climate (The Journal)
You can find all our COP27 updates, information, guidance and supports to help members understand sustainability and meet the challenges it presents in our online Sustainability Centre.
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