Expectations from UN Climate Summit

The climate summit in Egypt, Cop27, that began on November 6 will be the focus of much of the world's attention in the coming fortnight. Global leaders (representatives from 190 countries and more than 90 heads of states have gathered at the resort town of Sharm El Sheikh to address an extensive agenda that is urgent and complex, affecting countries and people in all four hemispheres.

Just last week UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres once again urged wealthy and poor nations “to close the ambition gap, the credibility gap and the solidarity gap” when they convened at the event in Egypt.

Given the rising global temperatures and the clear warnings from scientists, there can be no disagreement with Mr Gueterres's point. In today's world, however, the challenges facing even rich countries are daunting. Balancing already stretched budgets – due to the pandemic's toll on global health systems, and the war in Ukraine causing an energy crisis in Europe – not all countries will find climate goals easy to accomplish. Sticking to net-zero commitments in fraught geopolitical scenarios is that much tougher, despite the urgency of the challenge, very much at the centre of discussions this coming week.

The result of COP-26 known as the Glasgow Climate Pact was negotiated through consensus of the representatives of 197 attending parties. Due to late intervention from India and China that weakened a move to end coal power and fossil fuel subsidies, the conference ended with the adoption of a less stringent resolution than anticipated. Nevertheless, the pact was the first climate deal to reduce the use of coal. The pact included wording that encouraged greenhouse gas cuts and promised more climate finance for developing countries to adapt to climate change.

Building on last year's summit in Glasgow, Cop27 – an acronym for the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – is also being referred to as Cop for Africa or African Cop, which draws attention to a troubling issue: the extreme climate the continent is facing. This reality is viewed as unfair by many environment stakeholders, as Africa emits a tiny fraction of the quantity of carbon that countries in the developed West do, often at the cost of that development.

Over the next 12 days at the summit, heads of countries will discuss decarbonisation, water security, food security, energy mix, biodiversity, youth and future generations, finance and related themes. These affect rising global temperatures, leaving no countries immune. The enormously damaging consequences can range from wild fires to land slides or torrential floods. Even apart from the enormous destruction, affecting lives and livelihoods, such climate-related catastrophes push nations back many years in their development trajectories. Even since the climate summit in Scotland last year, multiple hazardous weather events related to climate change have occurred in disparate parts of the world. The concept of reimbursement for such loss and damage is not aid, but based on the “polluter pays” principle, the basis of environmental laws around the world.

Delegates from LMICs and climate campaigners are confident that “loss and damage”, a concept featured on COP27’s provisional agenda, will be part of the main talks. Loss and damage is a reference to a demand from LMICs to be reimbursed for harm they experience as a result of emissions from high income countries. Until now, the European Union and the United States have opposed this idea, mostly because of concerns that they could be subject to large claims for compensation.

Solutions are ever sought to try and curb and control factors that add to climate change. And Bangladesh is committed to it.