The second week of COP27 started with the day designated as Gender Day and Water Day. A scheme to give speedy financial support to communities battered by climate disasters was launched by a group of rich and developing nations at the UN COP27 summit in Egypt. India, ranked 8th in the Climate Change Performance Index, made a proposal for this year’s climate talks to end with a call for a phase down of all fossil fuels.
The “Global Shield against Climate Risks” initiative to provide speedy financial support to communities battered by climate disasters comes as many of the most vulnerable nations are also demanding wider compensation for the “loss and damage” they have already suffered from a heating planet. The initiative, backed by the G7 and launched with initial funding of more than $200 million, aims to provide “pre-arranged financial support designed to be quickly deployed in times of climate disasters”.
India submitted the country’s Long-Term Low Emissions and Development Strategies (LT-LEDS) on Monday. Despite a 2020 deadline for the plans, just 56 countries have so far submitted one. The long-term plan to achieve the net-zero target by 2070, emphasizes climate justice, sustainable lifestyles and equity. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said India’s approach to low-carbon development is based on four key considerations — low historic contribution to global warming, energy needs for development, commitment to low-carbon growth according to national circumstances and the need to build climate resilience.
India’s proposal to include fossil fuel phasedown in the final text is likely to get strong pushback from oil and gas-exporting nations, including the United States, which promotes natural gas as a clean `bridge fuel’ to renewables. India and the UN jointly hosted an event at India’s pavilion titled “Understanding the Concept of LiFE.”
An Informal Stocktaking Plenary of COP27, timed for the half-way point of COP27, took place where Parties and Groups were urged by the Egyptian Presidency to focus on reaching a successful outcome. Following consultation with the Parties and Groups involved in negotiations, the COP President set out a work program to deliver agreement in the COP27 negotiations.
During the opening session for Gender Day, the African Women’s Climate Adaptive Priorities (AWCAP) initiative was launched to address the fact that women and children constitute 80% of those needing assistance during disasters, while poor women in rural areas are 14 times more likely to die during a natural disaster.
During the opening session of COP27’s Thematic Day for Water, Egypt’s COP27 Presidency, in partnership with World Meteorological Organization (WMO), launched AWARe (Action on Water Adaptation or Resilience), an initiative that will champion inclusive cooperation to address water related challenges and solutions across climate change adaptation.
AWARe will focus on three priorities for action: Decrease water losses worldwide and improve water supply; Propose and support implementing mutually agreed policy and methods for cooperative water-related adaptation action and its co-benefits; Promote cooperation and interlinkages between water and climate action in order to achieve Agenda 2030, in particular SDG 6.
During a session on remote sensing for monitoring river basins, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt Mahmoud Mohieldin called for the establishment of these monitoring systems as early warning systems to cope with consequences of global warming.
The annual Climate Change Performance Index published yesterday by NewClimate Institute and Germanwatch leaves the first three places empty on the grounds that no country is on track to halve its emissions by 2025 compared to 1990 levels. Denmark tops the ranking, followed by Sweden and Chile while India was ranked eighth due to low emissions and growing use of renewable power.
C.A.R.E. 