Getting Ready for COP27: What's Next for Climate Action

November 6, 2022 kicks off another round of climate negotiations by the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to emphasize the extreme impacts climate change has made on the African continent. Considering this year has faced severe, record-breaking temperatures worldwide including deaths and food shortages in many regions, people across the globe have been waiting ardently for COP27.

As we hope to see negotiations become regulations and as CSRD measures come into effect next year, COP27 will be the defining climate summit of the year. If you're interested in what's to be negotiated, then stay tuned.

What is the COP?

Beginning in Berlin in 1995, the Conference of the Parties has met every year with the exception of 2020, to bring representatives from signatory countries together for a climate summit. The UN has named COP the "supreme decision-making body" of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

COP27 goals for taking action

COP27 will focus on a diverse set of key topics due to climate disasters that have displaced people and caused thousands of deaths, animal extinction, food shortages, and sea level rises, this year. COP27 is also an important event for businesses and organizations around the world as new regulations and carbon mitigation strategies will be discussed at the conference.

The main objectives of this year's climate summit

• GHG emissions reduction to limit global warming to under 2C
• Climate adaptation to especially help developing countries manage the effects of climate change
• Climate finance measures especially the $100 billion promised last year to assist developing countries
• Participation by all nations and stakeholders involved in the summit

The main topics focused on executing COP27 goals

• Nature will be one of the topics at the forefront of the summit to prevent deforestation, protect oceanic and coastal ecosystems, and drive positive change in land use. Natural ecosystems serve as carbon sinks, storing CO2 in trees and soil, and in blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrass, microalgae, algae, salt marshes, and other plants in wetlands. When nations are proactive in the treatment of the environment, everything else has a better opportunity to thrive. In order for human beings to keep rising temperatures under 1.5C, nature needs to be at the center.
• Food security is being threatened by more climate disasters as time goes on. The IPCC has estimated that 21% of land productivity has decreased due to climate change. In addition to food scarcity, soaring prices and inflation across the world have affected the hunger rate. It is also estimated that 24% of GHG emissions are caused by agriculture worldwide and new policies need to be implemented to mitigate that percentage.
• Water scarcity is also being affected by climate change. People and animals don't have access to clean water due to droughts yet floods are destroying entire communities and leaving behind debris and disease. Water complications are causing a lack of food, loss of biodiversity, and increasing disease.
• Decarbonization for industries is necessary to achieve the goals of COP26 and keep global warming below 1.5C. This focus means that the world will need climate finance and technology to transition to a green economy. COP27 will call on governments, companies in every sector, investors, and other stakeholders to adopt cleaner technologies and cooperate with decarbonization frameworks in their business strategies.
• Climate adaptation is urgent for at least 3.3 billion people who live in extremely vulnerable areas due to climate change, according to the IPCC. Climate adaptation will require radical change and an estimated $1.8 trillion investment in "early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, and nature-based solutions, from 2020 to 2030 [which] could generate $7.1 trillion in total net benefits," as claimed by the World Economic Forum.

What to expect at COP27

While anticipating the biggest climate conference in the world in a record-breaking weather and post-pandemic year, what can we expect from the Sharm El-Sheikh negotiations?

The Presidency Vision of Thematic Days highlights the following topics and more. For a comprehensive list, you can find The Presidency Vision full program here.

What did COP26 accomplish and how have things evolved?

Phasing out fossil fuels

The upside of COP26 was that 46 nations committed to phasing out domestic coal while many more emphasized the importance of ending finance towards fossil fuels, getting rid of internal combustion engines, and stopping reverse forest loss. Since then, we have seen carbon-intensive stocks decline, coal-burning plants shut down, and movements all over the world by citizens threatened by climate change demanding that businesses stop burning fossil fuels.

Increasing climate finance

Finance was also a topic of COP26, being recognized as a catalyst for transitioning into a green economy. Polluting business models are getting phased out as net zero business models continue to grow successfully. Every year, climate finance has continued to rise and is projected to keep increasing.  

Agreeing on the Glasgow Climate Pact

The Glasgow Climate Pact was the primary result of COP26. The goal of this pact is for nations to advance climate action in the 20s by making the decision to abide by The Paris Agreement. One of their goals is to cut carbon emissions as a collective by 45% this decade. They also agreed on The Paris Rulebook containing the operational implementation of The Paris Agreement.

What hasn't been achieved in the past year?

• The actual policies in action are lacking to the point that if we keep continuing on how we have been, we should far exceed 3C by the end of the century according to the Climate Action Tracker Warming Projections.
• There isn't enough action taken on the 2030 goals and not enough 2030 pledges made.
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) has confirmed that our carbon emissions increased over the course of the year:

"New IEA analysis of the latest data from around the world shows that these CO2 emissions are on course to increase by close to 300 million tonnes in 2022 to 33.8 billion tonnes – a far smaller rise than their jump of nearly 2 billion tonnes in 2021, which resulted from the rapid global recovery from the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic. This year’s increase is driven by power generation and by the aviation sector, as air travel rebounds from pandemic lows.

The rise in global CO2 emissions this year would be much larger – more than tripling to reach close to 1 billion tonnes – were it not for the major deployments of renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles (EVs) around the world."

Final thoughts

We can read the news but seeing measurable accomplishments that are steadier than changing speculations are more important. We anticipate that this year's round of talks will catalyze a more carbon-neutral mindset so governments and businesses can collectively unchain the full potential of the objectives pledged and the technology we now have to achieve them.

No matter what happens as a result of COP27, carbon neutrality begins with us, period. If we wait for government regulations to take place and put our plans in motion then, we've waited too long. The tools are available now therefore, there is no reason not to start measuring your carbon footprint today. Net0 has disrupted the complexities and enigmas of traditional carbon accounting methods with artificial intelligence that is precise with every step. We must adopt a net zero business model consciously, to make a change.

Related content

Please read our following articles to help support you in your journey towards being the change for good:

• GHG Reporting: Everything You Need to Know
• Carbon Emissions and Mitigation Strategies
• 10 Reasons Net0 Is the Best Carbon Accounting Platform
• What Are Scope 1, 2, and 3 Emissions?
• Carbon Emissions in the Atmosphere and the Methods of Abating Emissions

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Cover photo: COP27 Facebook