COP27, another step in the race against climate change

The twenty-seventh session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) will be a new opportunity to discuss resilience in the face of crisis, finance from rich countries to the poor, and seek consensus on actions to be followed on this. An existential issue, as described by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Since its first edition, held in Berlin in 1995, the event has been instrumental in formulating and coordinating international policies to deal with this scourge, one of the most serious disasters facing the planet today.

The appointment has been held every year since then, although two were held in 2001 and 2019.

During the first 23 years of the life of the United Nations, its work in this field was limited to operational activities, notably through the World Meteorological Organization.

It was not until 1968 that the principal organs of the United Nations seriously considered environmental issues.

However, the beginning of the real interest in this crucial issue was the United Nations Scientific Conference, also known as the First Earth Summit, which was held in Stockholm from June 5-12, 1972.

During the next two decades, the issue gained prominence, to the extent that the damage caused by man to nature was more clearly observed.

According to the organization itself, 1989 was a decisive factor in this cause as it was the first in which a major global effort was made.

That year, the General Assembly, in its resolution 44/207, approved a request to begin preparations for negotiations on a framework convention on the subject.

The so-called Helsinki Declaration on the Protection of the Ozone Layer was also adopted.

Important were the Second World Climate Conference, held in 1990 in Geneva, Switzerland, and two years later the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, better known as the Second Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Until then, the Kyoto Protocol had been a cornerstone of climate action, approved in 1997, with the goal of reducing total emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by at least five percent compared to 1990 levels.

The agreement was replaced two years ago by the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, which seeks to limit global warming to below 2.0 degrees Celsius, preferably 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial levels.

It also plans to provide financing to countries with fewer resources so that they can mitigate climate change, enhance resilience and improve their ability to adapt to the effects of climate change.

However, in COP27 this last point will be one of the main claims of the poor countries due to the breach of promises made by the rich countries.

Despite the progress, the United Nations criticized in its new report on the subject this month that the world is still not acting urgently enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

By contrast, the report indicated that emissions will be 10.6 percent more by 2030 than 2010 levels, a slight decrease from the 13.7 percent estimated last year.

JCM / Rob