Daily Times

Leaders from across the world have converged in Egypt to tackle humanity’s biggest concern – climate change. During the COP27 climate summit, leaders from poor countries openly shared their apprehension over prosperous governments and their actions that are driving global warming to new heights. They even asked the affluent countries to pay for damages. Island states have been facing ferocious ocean storms because of a rise in sea levels. Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua said, “The oil and gas industry continues to earn almost 3 billion United States dollars daily in profits. It is about time that these companies are made to pay a global carbon tax on their profits as a source of funding for loss and damage. While they are profiting, the planet is burning.”

Nikenike Vurobaravu, the president of Vanuatu, urges the International Court of Justice to guarantee that the rights and lives of future generations will not be tarnished by nations “lagging on climate change.” Indeed, wealthier nations need to step up and advocate the cause of climate change at a time when the world is facing its adverse impact. The developing and the less affluent countries of the world cannot afford to pay the prices of the ambitious designs of the Globan North. The greenhouse gases emitted to turbocharge industrial growth, that is largely dependent on fossil fuels, have added to global warming. The developed world is now asking the poorer countries to show restraint and not be a part of the modernisation/industrilisation drive in a bid to reduce global emissions while refusing to take a single step backward themselves.

The COP27 is being held at a time when the world is facing unprecedented challenges.

The COP27 climate summit began with a harsh caution from António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, when he said, “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.” He added that “We can sign a climate solidarity pact, or a collective suicide pact.”

During his opening address, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt, said, “The intensity and frequency of climate disasters have never been higher, in all four corners of the world, bringing wave after wave of suffering for billions of people. Is it not high time today to put an end to this suffering?”

Global scientific experts also presented ten new insights into climate science at the 27th edition of the Conference of the Parties (COP). “The insights of this report are alarming, confirming what we already know and giving us insights into other areas where further action is needed,” Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said while talking to the press. These ten new insights were: (1) Questioning the myth of endless adaptation, (2) Vulnerability hotspots cluster in “regions at risk,” (3) New threats on the horizon from climate-health interactions, (4) Climate mobility: from evidence to anticipatory action, (5) Human security requires climate security, (6) Sustainable land use is essential to meeting climate targets, (7) Private sustainable finance practices are failing to catalyse deep transitions, (8) Loss and Damage: the urgent planetary imperative, (9) Inclusive decision-making for climate-resilient development and (10) Breaking down structural barriers and unsustainable lock-ins.

The COP27 is being held at a time when the world is facing unprecedented challenges. The heads of state will be discussing climate goals and the way forward in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt until the COP27 concludes on November 18. It began on November 6. The world is indeed losing precious time as action needs to be done to slow down global warming. COP27 will feature roundtable sessions on various topics, including Just Transition, Food Security, Innovative Finance for Climate and Development, Investing in the Future of Energy, Water Security, and Climate Change and the Sustainability of Vulnerable Communities.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist.