People, Planet, Payments: The goals for COP27

Photo credit: UNFCC

Every year the UN hosts a climate change summit for global leaders to come together and agree steps to limit global heating.

These are known as a “Conference of the Parties” – COP. This year is the 27th meeting, which is why it is COP27.

COP27 is taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh from 6 to 18 November.

The discussions at COP27 will focus on three overarching themes:

Emissions reductions

Part of the process is for each country to set targets and create international accountability around those targets. These are known as Nationally Determined Contributions.

Only 23 of the nearly 200 countries that signed the Glasgow Climate Pact at COP26 last year have submitted increased targets so far.

By agreeing to the Pact, countries have agreed to strengthen their targets to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2022.

This year’s COP27 must deliver greater ambition on emissions reductions targets.

Climate finance

Developed countries had previously fallen short on their promise to deliver US$100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries.

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The Glasgow outcome reaffirmed this commitment. In a report, developed countries expressed confidence that the target would be met in 2023.

Leaders must now deliver on their $100 billion promise to developing countries for mitigation and adaptation.

Prioritising People

Since COP26 we’ve seen extreme weather events across the globe, affecting people and destroying homes. While we’ve discussed “loss and damage” for decades, it is no longer a side issue, it is now one of the most critical topics to be addressed.

Parties will also work on other important topics including forests and agriculture, technology transfer, indigenous peoples and gender.

You can follow the conversation at COP27 by following the UNFCCC live blog and following the live broadcasts on the UN Climate Change YouTube channel.

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