COP27 101: A Guide for the Uninitiated

You’re aware of climate change, of course. After all, you read and watch the news. And lately, there has been a lot of fuss about it in the media, ain’t it? Melting glaciers, scorching temperatures, the wildfires, the heatwaves, the flooding, the droughts – all fallouts of climate change, so the scientists claim.

You care for the environment and do your bit to protect it by – saving electricity, using less plastic, not wasting water, and of course, keeping yourself informed about the latest developments regarding climate change. You do understand the basics, but then every November-December, news channels and papers hurl abstruse nomenclatures related to climate change such as COP, UNFCCC, Paris Climate Agreement, etc.

You might wonder - why every year in these months news anchors become climate zealots. Not every news coverage provides an explainer about these important developments. And at times you might feel lost watching or reading about it.

But worry not, through our handy little guide to this year’s COP27, we will help you navigate through these jargons.

So, first things first, what on earth is COP?

In 1994, 154 countries of the world got together and signed an international environmental treaty called the ‘United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’ with the goal of addressing human-caused climate change. More countries signed the treaty later. As of 2022, UNFCCC has 198 parties.

All the countries that have signed the Convention are called Parties to the Convention. All the parties together form the supreme decision-making body of the Convention called the Conference of the Parties (COP).

The COP meets every year to assess progress in dealing with climate change. The first COP meeting, i.e., COP1 was held in 1995 in Berlin, Germany. Till now, 26 meetings of the Conference of Parties have been held, and the last COP meeting, i.e., COP26 was held in 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.

The next COP meeting will be held this year. But before we discuss this year’s upcoming COP27, we must understand the happenings at COP26.

What happened at COP26?

The COP26 was held in Glasgow, Scotland, the UK from 31^st October to 13^th November 2021.

Representatives from nearly every country in the world attended the conference. The Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi attended as India’s representative. Several other prominent world leaders, scientists, NGOs, and media representatives also attended the event.

The major goal of the COP26 was to assess the progress made since the targets set in the Paris Agreement of 2015 and to submit new enhanced targets to limit their greenhouse gas emissions.

The Paris Agreement is an international treaty on climate change adopted at COP21 in Paris in 2015 by 196 parties. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels, by requiring countries to systematically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Each country is required to set its emissions targets, and submit its plans on how they intend to achieve them.

The outcome of the COP26 was an agreement known as the Glasgow Climate Pact, agreed upon by the participating 197 countries. The pact’s main points are:

• Emissions – It was recognized that the present targets set by countries are inadequate to limit temperature rises to 1.5°C, and instead would lead to a disastrous 2.4°C of heating. It was agreed that countries would revisit their emission reduction plans in 2022 in order to try to keep the 1.5 °C Paris Agreement target achievable.
• Coal – Coal is responsible for 40% of annual CO2 emissions. Countries committed to ‘phase down’ coal-fired power generation.
• Climate Finance – Developed countries agreed in 2009 that developing countries would receive at least $100 billion a year from 2020 to help them cut emissions, and cope with the impacts of the climate crisis. But the promise has only been partially fulfilled. The developed countries committed under the agreement that they would substantially increase climate finance for developing countries.

The road to COP27

The COP27 is going to be held from 6th to 18th November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Because COP27 is being held in an African country this year, it is expected that African countries’ exposure to some of the most severe impacts of climate change will be high on the list of the discussions.

The major goals of the COP27 are:

●       Mitigation – Even if the new targets submitted at COP26 are fully implemented, this would still mean an estimated warming of 2.4°C by the end of the century. Hence, this year should witness the implementation of the Glasgow Pact to review the targets and create exhaustive plans for mitigation.

●       Adaptation – The last year has seen some of the most extreme weather occurrences, including heatwaves, floods, wildfires, and droughts. Adaptation, or preparing for present and future climate change consequences, has historically gotten less attention and funding than mitigation, despite vulnerable countries’ appeal for support. COP27 should see an improved global agenda regarding adaptation, reinforcing what was agreed in Paris and further clarified in the Glasgow pact in terms of putting adaptation at the center of global action.

●       Climate Finance – The failure to deliver on pledges of regular finance to assist developing nations in both adaptation and mitigation measures was a major source of dissatisfaction and resentment during COP26. At COP27, there may be a push to fulfill previous commitments, such as the $100 billion annual climate finance that rich nations were supposed to provide each year from 2020 through 2025, but have yet to deliver.

●       Loss and damage – The term 'loss and damage' refers to the effects of climate change that occur beyond the ability of society and ecosystems to adapt. At COP26, developing countries argued emphatically that wealthy countries owe them finance for the loss and harm to millions of people, including the loss of lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems. The conference, however, ended with wealthy nations blocking proposals to provide a financial facility for loss and damage, instead establishing a ‘dialogue’ to allow formal discussions on the matter to continue. The COP27 meeting should result in concrete decisions on finance mechanisms for loss and damage.

So, now that you have a firm grasp of what COP is and why it is so important for all of us to pay attention to what happens there, do not forget to follow this year’s COP27 from the 6th to the 18th of November 2022! A lot of what our future will look like depends upon the major decisions taken in the COPs.