COP27 – A look back at what the World Climate Summit did, did not achieve and what it all means for Ireland
THE final delegates to the COP27 global climate summit will return home today reflecting on a hectic two weeks in Egypt.
Check out the key points here to find out what it has and hasn’t achieved and what it means for Ireland.
Q. What happened at COP27?
A. 197 countries agreed on what they call the “Sharm El Sheikh Implementation Plan”. The summit was hosted by Egypt in the city of Sharm El Sheikh.
Q. What’s the plan?
A. 62 statements outlining where countries stand on various aspects of climate action and the many agreements and commitments made during the previous 26 COPS.
Q. What are the strong statements?
A. The plan includes an agreement to establish a new Loss and Damage Fund to help the poorest and most vulnerable countries deal with the costs of inevitable impacts of climate change, such as floods, droughts and land loss due to sea level rise and desertification.
It reiterates the importance of limiting the average global temperature rise to 1.5°C, as agreed at COP21 (currently 1.1-1.2°C), in order to stem escalating climate change and its impacts impede.
She decides to “make further efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C”.
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More onshore and offshore wind farms need to be built in Ireland
Q. And the weak?
A. The plan urges accelerating the “phase-down” of coal (the most carbon-polluting fossil fuel) as agreed at COP26, but does not extend this to oil and gas and does not use the stronger term “phase-down”. down”. out”.
It emphasizes the need for a rapid switch to renewable energy, but also enables a future of ‘low-emission’ energy, ie fossil gas.
She says accelerated action is needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but adds that emission reduction targets may take into account “different responsibilities” and “different national circumstances”.
That leaves plenty of leeway for countries to wiggle out of setting stricter emission limits.
It encourages countries to meet an existing but unfulfilled financial commitment to allocate US$100 billion (€97 billion) annually to help the most vulnerable countries prepare or adapt to climate change.
But that commitment is 10 years old and the costs have increased tremendously since then.
Q. What happens next?
A. A “Transition Committee” shall be established to work out the details of the formation and operation of the Loss and Damage Fund.
It will have 24 members – 10 from developed countries and 14 from developing countries – to be nominated by December 15 and to begin meetings before the end of March.
On all other issues, everything is really the same until the COP28, which is scheduled to take place in December 2023 in Dubai.
Q. Will the plan affect life in Ireland?
A. The EU takes COPS and climate action very seriously and was one of the few regions to increase its emission reduction target for COP27.
As a block, it plans to reduce emissions by more than half (57 percent) by 2030. Ireland has a plan and law that aims for a 51 percent reduction by 2030.
The new EU target may not require an increase in our target, but it will put more pressure on us to meet our national target.
That means more pressure to implement all the measures that the government has already agreed to.
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Taoiseach Micheál Martin speaks at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh. Photo: Peter Dejong/AP Photo
These include building more wind farms (onshore and offshore); Development of more solar energy (large systems and private roofs); promoting greater use of active transport, public transport and electric vehicles; Encouraging home and building retrofits and tackling agricultural emissions.
All of these actions come at a cost in money and inconvenience that will take time to pay off in cleaner, safer and more climate-friendly ways of life.
At COP27, Ireland signed or reaffirmed its commitments to various multinational initiatives such as the Global Offshore Wind Alliance, the Net Zero Government Initiative, the Global Methane Pledge and the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, but the objectives of these initiatives are broadly consistent with what is in it is our own national climate protection plan and they are voluntary anyway.
With regard to existing climate finance commitments for developing countries, we have already agreed to double our contribution to at least €225 million per year by 2025, which must be raised from public funds.
A decision has to be made for the new Loss and Damages Fund on how much Ireland will pay each year, but it will likely be millions of euros and that means the money has to come from public funds.
If the 1.5 degree limit can be reached then helping Ireland avoid increasing weather extremes and the kind of drought-flood fluctuations we’ve been seeing, as well as minimizing sea level rise, will be extremely important , which will be a tremendous challenge for our coastal communities.
Ireland has so far experienced very mild climate change impacts, but many other countries and regions with which we trade, holiday, emigrate and which need to remain stable to avoid international crises are already suffering severe impacts that are expanding expected to be strengthened.
Failing to address the root causes of climate change with increasing urgency, the plan does little to protect the wider world. That makes every country vulnerable.
https://www.independent.ie/news/environment/cop27-a-look-back-at-what-the-global-climate-summit-achieved-what-it-didnt-and-what-it-all-means-for-ireland-42161135.html COP27 – A look back at what the World Climate Summit did, did not achieve and what it all means for Ireland