Agreements on how to address global warming – and reiteration of the 2015 Paris climate agreement to keep global warming from rising over 1.5 degrees Celsius – were made during the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which came to a close in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, last week. In what the United Nations calls a “breakthrough agreement”, a funding plan for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters was also put in motion. This deal iterates the same goal that was set during the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
According to the UN, the conference saw important progress, as governments finally agreed on the way to move forward on the Global Goal on Adaptation. As part of the agreement, pledges that total more than $230m (around €224m) were made to the Adaptation Fund during COP27. “These pledges will help many more vulnerable communities adapt to climate change through concrete adaptation solutions,” as explained by the UN.
In addition, parties present at the conference also agreed on institutional arrangements to put in motion the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage. This network will “catalyse technical assistance to developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change,” according to the UN.
For what will the Adaptation Fund money be used?
The funding arrangements, as well as a dedicated fund, will “assist developing countries to respond to loss and damage”. In addition, a transitional committee was also established. This committee will make recommendations on how to operationalise new funding, as well as the fund obtained at COP28. The first meeting of the transitional committee is expected to take place during March of next year.
Why is this agreement “groundbreaking”?
According to Sky News, the COP process is based on consensus, which means that all of the almost 200 countries who attend the conference have to agree on a decision for the deal to go through. “[This for example] allowed for countries including Saudi Arabia, China and Russia to push back on the widely accepted 1.5C target,” wrote Victoria Seabrook of the news outlet.
Simon Stiell, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, said that the outcome of the Global Goal Adaptation agreement “moves us forward”. “We have determined a way forward on a decades-long conversation on funding for loss and damage – deliberating over how we address the impacts on communities whose lives and livelihoods have been ruined by the very worst impacts of climate change.”