HIGHLIGHTS: UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt

The European Union warned it was prepared to walk away from climate negotiations if a satisfactory outcome could not be reached, but said it still believed a deal could be struck on Saturday, November 19, between negotiators at the COP27 summit in Egypt.

“We need to move forward, not backwards and all (EU) ministers…are prepared to walk away if we do not have a result that does justice to what the world is waiting for – namely that we do something about this climate crisis,”said EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the summit, he called on other parties to the negotiations to reciprocate efforts to find a deal, particularlyon the issue of funding for poorer countries hit by climate disasters.

“We believe that a positive result today is still within reach. But we are worried about some of the things we have seen and heard over the last, let’s say, 12 hours,” he said.

“We’d rather have no decision than a bad decision.”

EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans on Saturday, November 19, called on negotiators at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt to reach an agreement that builds on previous climate deals and works to keep a 1.5ºC cap on the rise in global temperatures.

“The EU is united in our ambition to move forward and build on what we agreed in Glasgow. Our message to partners is clear: we cannot accept that 1.5ºC dies here and today,” he said on Twitter.

Dutch climate minister Rob Jetten said it felt like the COP27 summit was backtracking in some areas on the climate deal agreed in Glasgow last year, expressing unhappiness at the state of negotiations.

“I think everyone is not really happy about the progress that has been made over the night. Especially on mitigation, it’s simply not good enough,” Jetten told Reuters on the sidelines of the summit.

“We’re still waiting for some texts, but it feels like we’re backtracking on Glasgow and that will be unacceptable.”

Negotiators were poised to make a final push for a deal at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt on Saturday, November 19, as persistent disagreements over money forced the two-week talks into overtime.

Complicating matters, US Special Climate Envoy John Kerry – a powerful force in climate diplomacy – tested positive for COVID-19 following days of bilateral in-person meetings with counterparts from China and the European Union to Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.

The outcome of the conference, which was meant to end on Friday, November 18, is widely seen as a test of global resolve to fight climate change, as a war in Europe and rampant consumer inflation distract international attention.

An official draft of the agreement released Friday morning reaffirmed past commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius – the point at which scientists say the effects of climate change will get much worse.

But it left crucial issues unresolved, including the main sticking point between rich and poor nations of how to compensate countries already ravaged by climate-driven floods, droughts, mega-storms and wildfires.

In a potential breakthrough, the European Union said late on Thursday, November 17, it would back the demand of the G77 group of 134 developing countries to set up a fund to help them cope with so-called “loss and damage.”

But it was unclear on Friday whether developing countries would accept the EU’s stipulation that the funding come from a broad base of countries including China, and that only “the most vulnerable countries” benefit from the aid.

Delegates were still waiting to learn how the United States and China would respond.

Some countries, including the EU and Britain, have also pushed for the overall deal in Egypt to lock in country commitments for more ambitious climate action.

Others, including India, are hoping the final deal asks countries to phase down all fossil fuel use, instead of just coal – an idea that resource-rich countries, especially in Africa, have resisted.

A deal at COP27 must be made with support from all of the nearly 200 countries present.

As one of the countries that bear the brunt of climate impacts, the Philippines delegation’s priorities and positions during COP27 included expanding the definition of loss and damage, pushing for climate finance, and calling for rich countries’ transparency on funds. 

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Ghanaian poet and Climate Vulnerable Forum ambassador for youth Nakeeyat Dramani Sam speaks at the COP27 informal stocktaking plenary on behalf of Ghana.

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With several other sticking points dogging this year’s UN climate talks, host country Egypt said a final deal was still not expected before the weekend.

“I remain committed to bring this conference to a close tomorrow in an orderly manner, with the adoption of a series of consensus decisions that will be comprehensive, ambitious, and balanced,” COP27 President Sameh Shoukry told reporters.

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