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A guide to COP27

In search of balanced progress.

Time to talk: International climate talks will resume at COP27, 6-18 November. The conference presents an opportunity to move forward on key issues such as adaptation, loss and damage, and finance, with hosts Egypt looking for balanced progress. But it’s also a chance to gauge the international mood after a turbulent few months.

A political metronome: While the focus should be on climate change, in reality, COP27 will indicate whether the geopolitical events of 2022 (Russia-Ukraine war, energy prices, food prices) have distracted governments, businesses and the general public from pursuing continued climate action over the near term. At the same time, the extreme and record-breaking weather events so far this year – heatwaves in Europe, floods in Pakistan, droughts in China, and many more – should serve as a reminder of the urgency to act.

A change in tempo: COP27 is an important event in the climate calendar, but will not garner as much media attention as its predecessor in Glasgow – there are fewer critical decisions to be made and less delayed “post-2020” pressure. However, it is still vitally important for progress to be made across a whole host of climate issues as they implement the actions from Glasgow, prepare for the global stocktake next year, and lay the groundwork for key decisions to be adopted in the coming years. There is also new UNFCCC Executive Secretary – Simon Stiell is former senior minister in the Government of Grenada – to conduct discussions alongside Egypt.

From minor to major: Mitigation (reducing emissions) is still important, but the spotlight in Sharm el-Sheikh will be on adaptation, loss & damage, and finance, in our view. There are many gaps across adaptation that need to be addressed, but the chorus will focus on the global goal on adaptation. Loss & damage riffs will evoke the extreme events of 2022 and the need for some form of “provision of funds” for the most vulnerable nations. Finance will provide the underlying melody (as usual) as developed countries missed the 2022 promise of providing USD100bn and all Parties will work together to discuss the new collective quantified finance goal.

A question of scale: The spike in energy prices may have sharpened the short-term need to find fossil fuels, but it has not flattened the importance of long-term energy transition and renewable infrastructure. We think investors and businesses will be listening out for signals regarding the speed of implementation as climate opportunities are potentially unlocked. As regulators fine-tune climate disclosures (for companies and funds), knowing what is coming next (adaptation and biodiversity) will be important.

First published 26th September 2022.

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