United Nations urges COP27 negotiators to use time to make progress on climate issues

Miliband calls for an “anti-OPEC” international coalition and accuses British government of climate fraud

Simon Steele, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, urged countries participating in the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Summit “COP27” to use the remaining time in Egypt to build the bridges needed to make progress on the issues: limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, fixing and financing losses and damages. .

Sources at the climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh confirmed that an official draft of the outcome of the talks will not be released before tomorrow, Wednesday, as negotiators continue to work on agreeing final texts on the issues at stake. Ministers from participating countries will enter the arena of negotiations starting Tuesday in an effort to resolve political differences to approve a final document that is expected to be released on Friday, the last day of the conference.

Anisa Umuhosa Cross, the negotiator for Rwanda, said that financing losses and damages is on the agenda of the talks, but that more needs to be done to ensure that financial commitments are new and additional, accessible to vulnerable communities. Does not increase the debt of developing countries. It called for structural reforms in this regard.

For his part, Jamaica’s senior negotiator Omar Alcock stressed that poor countries need more financial aid. Ignoring the obvious, he said, is denying the facts of climate change. Funding for losses and damages is not a panacea, he said, but a necessity.

US climate envoy John Kerry confirmed the US would not accept any “legal mechanism” for compensation, but was open to negotiating “financial solutions” that could last until 2024.

A European source asked: “Would it be an appropriate solution to create a mechanism dedicated to this purpose? He added that he did not think he wanted to resort to existing bodies such as the Green Climate Fund.

On the other hand, Ghanaian negotiator Henry Kokowo, speaking on behalf of the “Climate Vulnerable Forum” which includes about 60 countries, said: “We will not give up. We must push more strongly in this direction.” Maldives Environment Minister Aminat Shona noted that “lack of political will is the biggest problem” and ruled out any “compromise”. “I don’t want to leave this conference empty-handed,” he added.

Analysts are awaiting the way fossil energy will be addressed in the final draft document, with some parties wanting to strengthen the formula to include gas and oil in this context, or set a date for phasing out these sources, one European said. Evidence.

However, observers observed clear and promising progress on the issue of climate finance to help low-income countries adapt to climate change and move towards clean energy, as distinct from the issue of “losses and damages”.

And on the corridors of Sharm el-Sheikh, Ed Miliband, the shadow climate change minister in the United Kingdom, saw a call to establish an international “anti-OPEC” coalition whose mission is to promote the transition to renewable energy, lower energy prices and promote clean technology. Miliband intends to rally more support for his idea during the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, which is expected to involve Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Costa Rica and Kenya from the Clean Energy Alliance. “This potential alliance for clean energy is like an anti-OPEC alliance,” Miliband told the Guardian newspaper from Sharm el-Sheikh. I say against OPEC because OPEC is a cartel, a group of countries working together to raise prices. It’s a way for countries to come together and take the lead, saying, “We’re going to provide clean energy, and it’s going to help lower prices not only for us, but for others.” Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer has made it clear that the party will lead action on climate and green jobs as central pillars of the party’s vision for the future. Miliband attacked British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, saying Sunak’s initial decision to refuse to attend the “COP27” summit (before withdrawing) and to prevent King Charles from attending was “extraordinary” and “embarrassing”. He added, “You don’t need to be a climatologist to figure out that COP26 is a big deal, we hosted COP26, so COP27 – we’re handing over the presidency – is also a big deal.

Miliband accused his government of being a climate fraud. Since hosting the COP 26 climate summit in his country, the government has turned to the debate on new coal mining, issued new oil and gas exploration licenses, tax exemptions for fossil fuels, placed and reduced restrictions on offshore wind power. Aid to poor countries.

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