COP27 Daily Briefing
Each day of COP27 we will provide a daily briefing outlining the key discussions, decisions and insights you need to know
Day 12 + Closing Ceremony
COP27 ended with Solutions Day on Thursday (17th Nov) and a closing ceremony on 20th Nov 2022.
Solutions Day was the final thematic day dedicated to platforming potential climate-related solutions. The day began with a discussion about the role sustainable cities and sustainable transport could play in reducing pollution, improving the quality of living and combating climate-related impacts in the next decade. The day highlighted the urgent need for all stakeholders - governments, financial institutions, large and small businesses, innovators, and climate entrepreneurs to work collaboratively toward the development and implementation of climate-related solutions. It also showcased a number of successful case studies in which entrepreneurs delivered low-emissions solutions in Egypt and Africa and discussed how projects could be better supported to enhance both scale and footprint.
Three Cop27 presidency initiatives were launched:
Sustainable Transport and Urban Mobility – supporting and encouraging low emissions transport in Africa and the Global South.
Global waste initiative ‘50 by 2050: For Africa towards a Global Impact’ – a global initiative on waste management aiming to treat and recycle at least 50% of the solid waste produced in Africa by 2050.
Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) Initiative – aiming to tackle climate-related impacts arising due to urbanisation.
Conclusion Day
The summit concluded with a wrap up of the key progress toward climate action made over the course of COP27. These included:
1. An agreement to develop loss and damage funds for climate vulnerable countries
In his concluding statement at COP27, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres stated that COP27 is driven primarily by two themes – justice and ambition. In relation to justice, the closure day of COP27 brought a remarkable announcement of an agreement to provide ‘loss and damage’ funding for vulnerable countries where the livelihoods of the communities have witnessed negative and irreversible impacts of climate change. This resulted in governments taking dedicated decisions to mobilise loss and damage funds to support developing countries, alongside establishing a ‘transitional committee’ to advise on the operationalisation of funding, aiming to have the first meeting to track the progress of the same in March next year. The announcement of the loss and damage fund was well received by leaders around the globe. Sir Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Health, Wellbeing and Environment in Antigua and Barbuda, for example commented that “The agreements made at COP27 are a win for our entire world. We have shown those who have felt neglected that we hear you, we see you, and we are giving you the respect and care you deserve”.
Mr Antonio Guterres also made note that the loss and damage fund is not the only solution to climate crisis and that the world needs to act now to create an action-oriented approach to fulfill climate ambitions at both local and global levels.
2. A way forward on Global Goal on Adaptation
Building on the momentum from COP26 on Global Goal on Adaptation, new commitments worth of USD 230 million were allocated towards the UN Adaptation Fund which will focus on vulnerable communities and integrate practical adaptation solutions to address climate-related impacts. The Adaptation Fund was established in 2001 and is managed by the Adaptation Fund Board. This fund is financed with a share of income from the clean development mechanism (CDM) project activities and other sources of funding.
This session resulted in an action item to create a report on doubling the adaptation finance and will be presented at COP28.
3. Independent evaluation under First Global Stocktake of Paris Agreement is not far away
Concluding remarks of the day emphasised the importance of taking stock of the implementation of the Paris Agreement and announced that the First Global Stocktake (an independent evaluation) will be conducted by United Arab Emirates (UAE). This independent evaluation will provide an opportunity to reflect the progress made and inform stakeholders about the key actions to be taken to prevent climate crisis. The First Global Stocktake will cover the period from 2021 to 2023 and will facilitate the assessment of progress on three thematic areas namely: mitigation, adaptation, and means of implementation and support.
4. Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan
Another key outcome of COP27 was a comprehensive implementation plan which stresses the importance of adequate financing and acknowledges that USD $4-6 trillion/year would be required towards low-carbon economy transition. This transition will require the transformation of financial systems and processes and calls on various stakeholders such as governments, central and commercial banks, institutional investors and other finance actors to work collaboratively.
Above all, COP27 emphasised the importance of empowering all stakeholders such as governments, businesses, financial institutions, banks, investors, local communities including indigenous community, civil society, and especially youth and children whilst creating and implementing solutions to prevent climate crisis.
5. Establish New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance prior to 2025
To address the concerns over the goal of developed countries to mobilise jointly USD 100 Billion per year by 2020, it was agreed that a new collective quantified goal on climate finance should be put in place before 2025. The new quantified goal should consider the needs and priorities of developing countries. This initiative stressed the importance of having science-based goals.
What does this mean for Australia and Australian Business?
COP27 witnessed a larger participation from Australia as compared to previous years. Chris Bowen, Australian Minister for Industry, Energy and Emission Reduction not only showed stronger support for loss and damage fund but also supported the ambition of reducing emissions. To address the same, he emphasised the importance of accelerating renewable energy solutions in this decade.
Further, Australia introduced its bid to co-host COP31 in 2026 with the Pacific nations. Turkey will be a strong contender against Australia as it has doubled its carbon emissions reduction targets to 41% by 2030. This clearly means that Australia will face mounted pressure to limit or to stop fossil fuels expansion.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma & Kanu Priya
Day 11
Wednesday was biodiversity day at COP27 – dedicated to nature and eco-based solutions. ‘Biodiversity Day’ comes just two weeks ahead of a high-level gathering of Convention on Biological Diversity States Parties in Montreal, aimed at reversing biodiversity loss.
The day began with a discussion around the interdependence of climate change and biodiversity and the importance of natural ecosystems to store and sequester carbon as well as the protection of forests and marine ecosystems, bolstered by case studies and examples of successful global biodiversity management. These discussions highlighted the urgent need for all stakeholders - policymakers, governments, civil society, and private sector - to work collaboratively towards the implementation of actions to manage climate-related impacts on biodiversity.
The day provided an opportunity to reflect on the progress of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use signed at COP26; UNFCCC Secretariat Dirk Nemitz stressed the importance of countries being more aggressive in turning pledges into actions when it comes to protecting forests, and recognised the need for outcome-oriented financing alongside measurable accountability for the pledges.
Highlights of the day included:
A finding that up to 90% of coral reef will likely be lost at 1.5 degrees
UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Ellie Goulding warned that 70-90% of all coral reefs would be lost at 1.5 degrees Celsius; this number would increase to 99% at 2 degrees of warming. She urged global leaders to protect coral reefs through dedicated funding for restoration and protection. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen also stressed that investments in nature, forests, coral reefs, mangroves and coastal forest would not only protect the world from increasingly volatile weather patterns, but would also provide habitat for species and carbon storage.
Brazil commits to protect the Amazon Rainforest
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stressed the importance of saving the Amazon rainforest due to its inherent potential to absorb emissions and for its importance to climate security and wealth generation in the region. He also highlighted the need for climate finance to address climate change impacts in developing countries. He said, “we will spare no efforts to have zero deforestation and the degradation of our biomass by 2030.”
Forests and forecast to be a powerful nature-based solution
The event acknowledged the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use, where it was recognised that forests offer nature-based solutions to climate change impacts. In the declaration, 145 countries committed to preserve forests globally, prevent land degradation, and facilitate the alignment of critical finances. The UN Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Green Gigaton Challenge (a global UN initiative) are committed to organising funding to achieve one gigaton of emissions reductions from forests by 2025.
Lack of landmass to meet pledges
The findings from the Land Gap Report (an IISD study identifying the availability of land that could be used for nature-based solutions) were presented on Wednesday by various representatives from educational and research institutions. Points of interest include that:
Achieving carbon reduction goals requires implementation of nature-based solutions – which itself require more land than currently available for this purpose
Older forests offer more effective carbon storing solutions compared to younger forests
Implementing nature-based solutions may encroach on the land rights of Indigenous people – national pledges must therefore consider the competing needs of people living on the land.
What does this mean for Australia and Australian Business?
Australia’s climate commitments do not currently provide any information about off-farm land sector abatement with actions limited to ‘savanna burning’ and ‘native forest management’. There is an opportunity for Australia to quantify and report on forest-based mitigation activities (having the highest rate of deforestation in the developed world).
The focus on protecting coral reef puts the spotlight on protecting Australia’s Great Barrier Reef which has already experienced multiple coral bleaching events over the past few years.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma and Erin Hannan-Jones
Day 10
Tuesday was another dual thematic day at COP27 – this time dedicated to Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) and Civil Society as well as Energy.
ACE and Civil Society Thematic day events focused on how civil society could be better integrated into climate decision-making processes and negotiations. Participants shared best practices and highlighted the roles and contributions of civil society in various forms of climate action.
The Energy Thematic day highlighted the urgent need for the global energy system to transition away from fossil fuels towards renewables to reduce global emissions in half by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. The COP27 Presidency launched the Africa Just & Affordable Energy Transition Initiative (AJAETI) which has a specific focus on providing pathways for just transition in Africa – with green hydrogen named as a potential future energy source for the continent. This initiative will engage the International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to provide pathways for the rapid and sustainable achievement of access.
Other highlights:
Civil societies called out corporates and nations for not taking climate commitments seriously
A report written by Urgewald and 50 NGO partners today revealed that 96% of oil & gas sector companies are expanding their operations with many financial institutions continuing to make related investments. The report highlighted that there is still a huge gap between the scale of investments made towards fossil fuel compared to renewables.
Representatives from Niger Delta civil societies raised concerns over term commitments and 2030 targets, stating that their needs are immediate, and they need help now. The soil in Niger Delta is no longer viable for agriculture because of oil spills and flaring, with the civil societies calling for people to be compensated for their loss.
The world is not on track to meet Paris Agreement
The first high-level ministerial roundtable on pre-2030 ambition opened with a report from UN Climate Change that highlighted the fact that the world is way off track to stay below the goals of the Paris Agreement. Government ministers agreed the 1.5-degree limit is a “red line” that cannot be crossed. The UNFCCC Executive Secretary stressed the importance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees and linked the climate risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply and overall economic growth.
First drafts of Cop27 decisions emerge amid fears of backsliding on Glasgow pledges
News reports emerged today accusing some countries of attempting to water down commitments previously made at COP26 in Glasgow. The key Glasgow pledges that are under contention include:
A climate finance pledge which “urges developed country parties to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaption to developing country parties from 2019 levels by 2025.”
The promise to limit global temperature increases to 1.5C – which has been targeted by China and India who are looking to instead return to the Paris agreement goal of an upper limit of 2C.
Record numbers of young people in attendance at the conference, with many accusing the summit of ‘greenwashing’
Despite Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg boycotting Cop27 out of concern for “greenwashing”, record numbers of young people attended the conference on Tuesday. According to news reports from the BBC and the Guardian, many of these young people from countries at most at risk of climate change say that they attended the conference to “call out” greenwashing, as well as the influence of fossil fuels organisations “from the inside”.
Climate finance was topical again with young civil activists from Bangladesh, Uganda, Pakistan, and Kenya calling out the urgent need for climate finance in their countries. Other activists called for the UN to play a larger role in financially supporting more young people to attend the conference.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma and Erin Hannan-Jones
Day 9
Monday was water and gender day at COP27. The thematic day provided a platform to discuss the issue of gender in the context of climate change as well as the potential for water to aid in climate resilience. However, as the conference entered its second week there was a shift in tone of reporting of the event with commentators becoming skeptical of the outcomes that would be achieved by the end of the negotiation period.
Highlights of the day included:
The Climate Change Performance Index finding that Australia has improved its climate performance – but only slightly
The report published by German watch, the New Climate Institute and the Climate Action Network had input from 450 global climate and energy experts and campaigners. It found that Australia ranked 55th out of 63 countries – a slight improvement on its position as 59th last year. The authors critisised Australia’s dearth of policies to phase out goal and gas mining, and proposals that could increase fossil fuel production by more than 5% by 2030.
This comes as campaigners from nations in the Pacific criticised Australia for the harm it is causing to the region. Campaigner Joseph Sikulu commented, “In our region, Australia still isn't stepping up to where they need to be. We know that they have at least 20 new proposals for coal mines sitting on their desk waiting for approval. We know that Australia is the biggest exporter of coal in the whole entire world."
The Australian climate change minister joining calls to reshape the international finance system
Australian Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction, Chris Bowen will present a major address to the conference tomorrow. In an advanced copy of the speech published by his office, Bowen declared that Australia is back at COP27 as a “constructive, positive and willing climate collaborator.” In the speech, Bowen does not outline any new climate funding or policies, instead recapping the changes made by the Albanese government since its election. Significantly, Bowen joins calls from other delegates for change to the international financial system so it is better able to deal with the climate crisis.
“The urgency with which we must act requires frank conversations about where we are now, where we are going, and how we are going to get there,” Bowen said. “Some of our international financial institutions are stepping up to this, our most important global task. Others are not. Just as we commit to this agenda as individual nations, our multilateral development banks – including the World Bank – must be wholeheartedly committed to this, from their purpose to their actions.”
Bowen’s criticism of the World Bank comes after the World Bank Chief admitted earlier this year that he “didn’t know where the accepted climate science.”
A warning that this could be “the COP where we lose 1.5C”
In an impassioned speech on Monday, former UK cabinet minister Alok Sharma (who presided over the COP26 summit in Glasgow) reinforced the importance of the 1.5C commitment.
“We’ll either leave Egypt having kept 1.5C alive or this will be the Cop where we lose 1.5C. We are already at 1.1C global warming, and I know I don’t have to remind all of you the impact of that around the world. Even at 1.5C we are still going to have devastating outcomes for many millions. As our friend from Bangladesh reminded us, 1.5 needs to be a red line. And this cannot be the COP where we lose 1.5C.”
Sharma called for:
- Countries that had not yet submitted revised national plans on emissions to deliver them urgently
- Faster phasing out of coal and fossil fuel subsidies
- Technical issues in cop work program to be resolved
This warning comes amid anxiety that some countries may be trying to weaken the language of 1.5C. Attendees took to twitter to accuse some negotiators of pushing for a return to Paris language which calls for ‘well-below 20C’ as opposed to 1.50C.
There has also been pessimism around how likely it is for negotiations to reach outcomes by the end of the conference with some commentators saying that technical negotiations are going badly and questioning why ministers won’t be brought into negotiations until Wednesday.
Yet others are critical of the conference for corporate elitism, exclusion of poor and disenfranchised people (there are no budget hotel options nearby), high carbon emissions associated with the event (36 private jets private planes flew into the event between 4 and 6 November), and the reframing of natural gas as a “transition fuel” rather than a fossil fuel by corporates in an effort to prolong the life of the sector.
What does this mean for Australia and Australian Business?
Australia has endorsed two key initiatives namely, the Global Methane Pledge and the Global Research Initiative. These endorsements will require Australia to reduce emissions from agriculture, coal, land use and commit towards announcing a phase out date for coal and other fossil fuels.
There is increased pressure on Australia to increase its contribution and engagement on climate finance with the United Nations likely to push for it to rejoin the $100billion Green Climate Fund and end international public finance for fossil fuels.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma and Erin Hannan-Jones
Days 6-8
As the event reached its mid-way point, leading global experts from energy intensive sectors came forward with plans, policies, and actions to reduce carbon footprint and move towards decarbonisation. The need for development finance was again highlighted by developing countries who require economic support from the international community to achieve decarbonisation goals.
The weekend saw two more thematic days:
Decarbonisation day which called for urgent action to reduce emissions. Significantly, the UN Secretary General emphasised the need to increase renewable energy development to around 60 percent of total energy capacity over the next eight years, which is roughly a tripling of installed capacity over this decade. This ambition was considered achievable since the world has tripled its renewable energy capacity over the last decade.
Adaptation and agriculture day which focused on how the world would feed 8 billion people through adaptation and climate resilient agriculture. Concerningly, geopolitical shifts and extreme weather events were identified as key disrupters to the global food supply chain.
Other key themes over the weekend:
Decarbonisation through a ‘circular carbon economy’ – The COP27 presidency presented a master plan to accelerate decarbonisation across five major sectors (power, steel, road transport, hydrogen and agriculture). While energy intensive industries were identified as critical to achieving decarbonisation, the plan also suggested structural shifts through global value chain and ‘industrial clusters’ would be critical levers for decarbonisation
Adaptation and agriculture – The COP 27 Presidency launched four key initiatives that address food security, nutrition, decent life and sustainable peace:
Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST)
Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN)
Decent Life for a climate Resilient Africa
Climate Response for Sustainable Peace (CRSP)
Nature based solutions – 13 countries including Australia joined the “Agriculture Breakthrough” – an event co-led by Egypt and the UK – to work together to make climate-resilient, sustainable agriculture the most attractive and widely adopted option for farmers everywhere by 2030. The event was designed to provide a practical platform for partnerships between countries and across industries that will be essential to rapidly scale commercially viable solutions for climate progress
What does this mean for Australia and Australian business?
Australia is well positioned to be a global leader when it comes to supporting nature-based solutions. This is primarily due to its massive landmass and agricultural footprint as well as current government initiatives supporting coastal blue carbon ecosystems, biodiversity, soil health and financing solutions for nature.
While the global race to decarbonisation is accelerating, there are dozens of new coal and gas projects under various stages of development, placing Australia under intense scrutiny from the international community. Australia could improve its global standing by leveraging its renewable energy and storage potential.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma and Erin Hannan-Jones
Day 5
Science Day at COP27 coincided with revelations of a significant rise in the number of fossil fuel industry delegates at the conference. The day reinforced the need for collective and unified action to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Highlights from the day included:
Presentation of a report titled ‘10 Insights about Climate Change’ which paints a dire picture about the urgency with which coordinated, multi-lateral policy action is required to prevent devastating human catastrophe
Revelations that over 600 fossil fuel lobbyists are in attendance at the conference – vastly outnumbering the number of representatives from any other affected interest group
‘10 New Insights in Climate Science 2022’ paints a dire picture about the urgency of coordinated multi-lateral policy action
The Science Day comprised of panel discussions and events to bring forward the outcomes of key reports and research on climate change. Climate Change Chief Simon Stiell joined a panel of researchers to present the report ’10 New Insights in Climate Science 2022’. The report covered topics that are focus areas for negotiators at the conference including adaptation and mitigation, the intersection of climate and food systems, security, and finance.
In short it tells a story of how:
The potential to adapt to climate change is not limitless with people and ecosystems already at the limit of what is possible in terms of adaption
The most climate vulnerable hotspots are clustered in regions already at risk including Central America, the Sahel, Central and East Africa, the Middle East and across Asia
Climate change is already impacting the health and mortality of humans, animals, and ecosystems
The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events will drive involuntary migration and displacement
Climate change will exacerbate existing national security issues and the risk of violent conflict
Food security will only be possible through more sustainable land use that supports ecosystem integrity
Current sustainable finance practices are not sufficient to meet climate change targets because these practices are designed to fit into the financial sector’s existing business models as opposed to substantially shifting the allocation of capital towards mitigation efforts
Based on current trajectories, losses, and damage due to climate change require a deep and swift coordinated policy response
Being inclusive and empowering in all forms of decision-making has been shown to lead to better and more just climate outcomes
Simultaneous interventions across all structural causes of climate change are crucial to mitigate temperature increase to below 2 degrees Celsius
Researchers stress that only through ambitious mitigation efforts and systemic transformation, can we avoid facing widespread limits to adaptation, and increased losses and damages. The full report and further materials can be found here
Record number of fossil fuel lobbyists at the event
According to data compiled by Corporate Accountability, Global Witness and Corporate Europe Observatory, there are 636 lobbyists from the oil and gas industries registered to attend the event. This is 25% more than the Glasgow conference and a larger delegation than any country apart from the United Arab Emirates (who have a large delegation given the UAE will host the event next year).
Protesters have called for fossil fuel representatives to be removed from the event, raising interesting questions about the role of corporates in informing and shaping climate policy.
In discussing the role of private business at COP27 in a submission to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, a coalition of 126 civil society groups asserted that climate action would “continue to fail to meaningfully address the climate crisis as long as polluting interests are granted unmitigated access to policymaking processes and are allowed to unduly influence and weaken the critical work of the UNFCCC”.
The United State Council for International Business responded saying that “this would damage and slow implementation [and] marginalise one of the most central constituencies in the UNFCCC”.
What does this mean for Australia and Australian Business?
The day highlighted the urgency of comprehensive policy action on climate change. This policy action will need to ensure not only targets on emission reduction but also a strategy to address sustainable land use for continued food security and funding towards climate mitigation and adaptation. Australia being highly sensitive to the physical risks of climate change among the developed countries, will need to continue to focus on strengthening partnerships and support investments to cope with the impacts of changing climate in a sustainable and equitable manner.
The day also reinforced the need for checks and balances that ensure corporations and high greenhouse gas emitters have a seat at the table in policy decisions while also ensuring these same corporations do not have undue influence over decision making – especially when compared to other stakeholder groups who will be significantly more affected by the hazards created by the changing climate.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma and Erin Hannan-Jones
Day 4
The fourth day of Cop27 was Finance Day – the first thematic day of the conference. The day was focused on shining a spotlight on just financing to build resilience for countries hit by natural disasters. It was also the first day of the Capacity-building Hub – an event designed to build shared knowledge and expertise on climate innovation.
As the conference continues to gain momentum, commentators and activists have been calling out organisers for a perceived lack of gender diversity, inadequate representation of First Nations people and pressuring the Egyptian government to address alleged human rights issues.
New sustainable financing initiatives set to support disaster response and adaptation in Africa
Finance Day included a program of 28 events and a Ministerial round table on how innovative financial instruments, tools and policies could support implementation and advancement of climate initiatives.
Significantly, the COP27 Presidency and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa launched a new sustainable financing initiative – Reducing the Cost of Green and Sustainable Borrowing. The initiative is aimed at addressing the financial threat posed to the African nations by climate hazards, disaster recovery and transition costs through financial mechanisms including Green and Social and Sustainable (GSS) bonds.
Capacity-building Hub highlighted the need for collaboration and knowledge sharing
The Capacity-building Hub is intended to be a forum to generate ideas and build global capacity for more ambitious and innovative climate action. An array of business leaders, academics and activists shared stories and insights from their experiences driving climate action and advocated for collaboration, goodwill and knowledge sharing at local and global levels to implement climate initiatives. The day also saw the launch of the first ever Children and Youth Pavilion which created a forum for young people to speak about intergenerational climate justice.
Allegations of greenwashing, lack of diversity and Indigenous representation
The Egyptian government continues to come under fire for its human rights with some commentators accusing it of ‘greenwashing’ its human rights record as it hosts the conference and calling for world leaders to confront the Egyptian government over alleged human rights violations including the treatment of pro-democracy activists. One commentator reported to NBC that “without freedom of assembly and association, you cannot achieve climate justice”.
Diversity and inclusion are also at the forefront of commentary with LinkedIn commentators calling for more women representation at the conference.
There are also reports that Indigenous representatives are being overlooked at the summit. Yessie Mosby who is a traditional owner of the Kulkalgal Nation told the Guardian “We hold on to a lot of ancient knowledge which is being neglected and pushed aside”.
Mr. Mosby was one of 8 Torres Strait Islander people who in September lodged a landmark complaint with the UN human Rights Council that Australia is not doing enough to protect Torres Strait Islander people from its climate crisis failures and should be held to account for compensation.
What does this mean for Australia and Australian Businesses?
Collaboration is key: Australian businesses can learn from the stories of cross-sector collaboration and knowledge sharing as they implement their own sustainability initiatives and programs. This could mean forming industry partnerships or working up and down supply chains for mutually beneficial climate solutions.
Balancing people and planet: Media and public commentators are likely to continue calling out organisations that don’t appear to be placing equal weighting on ‘people’ and ‘planet’ aspects of sustainability. Organisations can get on the front foot by prioritising diversity and inclusion and meaningful inclusion of First Nations people in sustainability plans.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma and Erin Hannan-Jones
Day 3
The third day of COP27 was focused around three central topics. Namely:
Driving greater accountability and transparency of corporate Net Zero pledges to crack down on greenwashing
A plan to support 4 billion people rapidly adapt to the changing environment by 2030
The intrinsic link between the climate and geopolitical systems
Zero tolerance for greenwashing
The United Nations Secretary-General demanded organisations take accountability for Net Zero pledges as he presented the new report Integrity Matters: Net Zero Commitments by Businesses, Financial Institutions, Cities and Regions.
“We urgently need every business, investor, city, state, and region to walk the talk on their net zero promises. We cannot afford slow movers, fake movers, or any form of greenwashing” he said.
The report was written by the High-Level Expert Group on the Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities. It outlines 10 recommendations for how organisations should set effective Net Zero pledges to minimise greenwashing, including that plans should deliver significant near and medium-term emissions reductions on the path to global net zero by 2050 and be based in science with third-party accountability.
Launch of the first comprehensive climate adaptation plan
The COP27 Presidency launched the Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda to help 4 billion people adapt to climate change by 2030. This comes as IPCC and UN research warns that 50% of the world’s population will be at severe risk of climate change impacts by 2030 even in a 1.5 degree world.
The plan sets out 30 Adaption Outcomes to enhance resilience for people living in the most climate vulnerable communities by 2030. Each outcome is supplemented with specific solutions that can be adapted to unique local contexts and to deliver systems-level transformation to protect communities from the impacts of climate change.
These include:
Sustainable agricultural practices
Protecting and restoring 400 million hectares of land and freshwater ecosystems and supporting indigenous communities through nature-based solutions
Installing smart and early warning systems
Investing to secure the future of 15 million hectares of mangroves
Expanding access to clean cooking for 2.4 billion people
Encouraging large companies to integrate physical climate risk into planning and develop actional adaptation plans
World leaders continue to demonstrate the link between the climate and geopolitical systems
World leaders continued to present to the summit throughout the day. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared via video link and warned that peace is vital for saving climate.
“There can be no effective climate policy without the peace,” he said, “The Russian war has brought about an energy crisis that has forced dozens of countries to resume coal-fired power generation in order to lower energy prices for their people, to lower prices that are shockingly rising due to deliberate Russian actions.”
Leaders of developing nations again called out the need for wealthy nations to provide loss and damage funds. In one example, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan would need more than US $30bn in flood relief despite its very low carbon footprints.
What does this mean for Australia and Australian businesses?
Australian businesses should expect increasing scrutiny of their Net Zero pledges over the coming years from regulators and the public. Organisations will be expected to include science-based targets, seek third-party assurance over pledges, and demonstrate near- and medium-term action towards emissions reduction. Amidst increasing concern over greenwashing and inadequacy of current voluntary reporting regimes, it is likely that mandatory ESG reporting will be introduced in Australia.
Governments, regulators and large organisations should also start to build climate resiliency planning, risk assessment, adaptation and investment into their current risk management processes. The Australian Government has allocated $9.3 million over four years to the climate risk and opportunity management program as part of the National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy, however there will be increased pressure on Australia to roll out a National Adaptation policy to ensure implementation of the strategy.
Stay tuned over the next 2 weeks as we continue to bring you our key insights from the 2022 COP27 conference in Egypt.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma and Erin Hannan-Jones
Day 2
The second day of COP27 kicked off with the World Leaders Summit. This is a chance for more than 100 world leaders to set the stage for COP27 across two days with highlight events being the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit and a series of side events, hosted by various nations, each focused on a specific sustainability topic.
Over the course of the day, world leaders gave speeches outlining their nation’s commitments towards climate action and in some cases providing dire calls to action for more urgent and equitable action.
Highlights of the day included:
World leaders being greeted by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres who warned that the world was on a “Highway to hell with our foot on the accelerator” unless all countries helped each other through the climate crisis. In his emotive speech he said, “We can sign a climate solidarity pact, or a collective suicide pact.”
The UN Secretary-General also unveiled USD 3.1 Billion Early Warnings for All initiative to assist in improved disaster risk knowledge, observation and forecasting, preparedness and response, and communication of early warnings.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley warned of a billion refugees by 2050 unless governments act now to tackle the crisis – reinforcing the need for loss and damage discussions. “We were the ones whose blood, sweat and tears financed the industrial revolution,” she said, “are we now to face double jeopardy by having to pay the cost as a result of those greenhouse gases from the industrial revolution? That is fundamentally unfair.”
French President Emmanuel Macron insisted that the war in Ukraine would not cause France to back out of its commitments to tackle the climate crisis. Macron is working with Mottley on an initiative to provide finance to the developing world calling for other nations to do the same.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reassured the leaders that the UK would honour its climate change commitments and announced that it would triple funding to support nations to adapt to the impact of climate change. He did not provide details of how this funding would be dispersed to support adaptation.
The opening meeting of the second meeting of the Technical Dialogue under the first Global Stocktake also got underway, which will provide information to counties and stakeholders on where they’re making progress toward meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, and where they are falling short.
What does this mean for Australian Business?
On the first day of COP, world leaders agreed to include considerations of loss and damage funding arrangements. As one of the key contributors to the global climate crisis, there may be expectations from Australia to increase its commitment to international climate finance.
The technical dialogue under the global stocktake process is likely to set the course for developed nations to update and enhance their ambition to limit global warming to well below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma and Erin Hannan-Jones
Day 1
The first day of COP27 kicked off on Sunday 06 November with over 40,000 participants from across the globe landing in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh.
The conference is taking place against a backdrop of an unfolding climate emergency, with unprecedented and devastating heatwaves, floods and storms impacting millions of people across the world. These same people are also confronted by simultaneous crises in energy, food, water, cost of living; aggravated by geopolitical conflicts and tensions.
The conference is also occurring against a backdrop of inaction against the promises made at Cop26 with only 29 of 194 countries tightening national plans to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.
In his opening address, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary asked governments to focus on three critical areas at COP27:
Implementing the Paris Agreement by turning negotiations into concrete actions
Cementing progress on climate mitigation, adaptation and financing
Enhancing delivery of the principles of transparency and accountability throughout the UN Climate Change process
Other highlights of the first day included:
Contentious agreement to include loss and damage funding as a key agenda item at the conference. While a proposal was blocked last year at COP26 to introduce loss and damage funding (whereby high-income nations compensate poorer nations for economic loss and damage associated with climate change), this year delegates agreed (albeit after lengthy talks which caused a delay to the start of the conference) to place loss and damage talks back on the agenda.
Placing human needs at the core of climate efforts. In his opening address, the COP27 President His Excellency Sameh Shoukry set out an ambitious vision to put human needs at the heart of global efforts to address climate change with renewed focus on prioritising water security, food security, health and energy security throughout the conference and negotiations.
What does this mean for business in Australia?
This matters to Australian business because it sets the scene for a more aggressive suite of outcomes compared to what we have seen in previous years. We are watching carefully to see how the Australian Government responds to pressure from the international community to set more ambitious policy action and how Australian businesses will need to adapt. Full alignment with the Paris Agreement will put additional pressure on the Government and Businesses to align policies and business strategies with the Paris Agreement. While there is a risk of Australia being compared with other developed nations that are planning to halve their emissions by 2030, there is an opportunity to strengthen green trade partnerships and demonstrate Australia’s role in global energy transition as a potential renewables superpower.
Stay tuned over the next 2 weeks as we continue to bring you our key insights from the 2022 COP27 conference in Egypt.
For more information, please contact Arvind Sharma at asharma@rennieadvisory.com.au
Contributions: Arvind Sharma and Erin Hannan-Jones