(Sharm el-Sheikh) After a week of negotiations at COP27, the divisions between the rich countries responsible for global warming and the poor countries which are calling for help to deal with it remain flagrant, despite an almost unanimous observation of the urgency of reducing emissions.
Posted at 10:15 p.m.
At the previous UN climate conference in Glasgow a year ago, some 200 countries pledged to “keep alive” the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement. That is to say, limit global warming by the year 2100 to +1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial era, by increasing their greenhouse gas reduction commitments for COP27 in Sharm el -Sheikh.
But fewer than 30 countries have done so, putting the planet on course for a warming of +2.4°C at best. And this first week of COP27 did not see many announcements, except for that of Mexico.
“Everyone now seems to be waiting for others, looking at each other like earthenware dogs, believing they have done their part,” commented Pierre Canet, from the NGO WWF.
According to several observers, China and Saudi Arabia have even made known their reluctance, already expressed in the past, to see the reference to the +1.5°C objective mentioned in the final declaration, insisting on the main objective of the Paris agreement of “significantly below” +2°C.
” Even further ”
“Most of the countries here have no intention of going back”, insisted the American special envoy for the climate John Kerry, while the Egyptian presidency of the COP27 called to go “more and more and more far “.
As decisions are made by consensus, a single country can prevent any adoption. Last year, a surprise last-minute demand from China and India further extended the already overflowing conference.
Under this pressure, delegates had weakened the historic reference to fossil fuels, calling for “intensified efforts towards coal reduction without CO2 capture systems”.2.
The way in which fossils will be mentioned will be watched closely, while some want this wording to be strengthened, to include gas and oil, or to mention a release date, notes a European source.
In the final declaration, we need “a number of things that tell people ‘we have heard you, there is an emergency, it’s everyone on deck and we’re going to use all the levers to decarbonize the planet’ “Summarizes Alden Meyer, analyst at the pressure group E3G.
From Pakistan drowned in historic floods a few months ago to small islands in the Pacific threatened by rising sea levels, developing countries are demanding more money from rich countries that have not kept their promise to increase to $100 billion a year their aid for reducing emissions and adapting to impacts.
They are also now demanding the establishment of a specific mechanism to deal with the “losses and damage” already suffered, coming up against the reluctance of rich countries.
“Not empty-handed”
“I don’t know many people who would approve of something that isn’t even fully defined,” commented John Kerry, stressing that the United States would not accept any “legal structure” linked to “offsets”. , but that they were ready for discussions on “financial arrangements” which could continue until 2024.
Create a dedicated mechanism, “is this the right solution?” We think that is not the case,” a European source told AFP, preferring the use of existing organizations such as the Green Climate Fund.
“We are not giving up the fight, we have to push and push harder,” said Henry Kokofu, negotiator from Ghana, speaking on behalf of the Climate Vulnerable Forum which brings together nearly 60 countries.
“The biggest problem is the lack of political will, the reluctance to see the climate emergency,” commented Maldives Environment Minister Aminath Shauna, refusing any “compromise”.
“I don’t want to leave this COP empty-handed,” she added.
The ministers will come into play from Tuesday to try to settle the political disputes with a view to the adoption of a final text expected on Friday, the last scheduled day of the conference.
After speeches last week by around 100 heads of state and government, including US President Joe Biden, who on Friday called on “all countries” to do more, the second week will be marked by the visit of the Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.