What is the COP?
The Conference of Parties (COP) is the decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The 1st Conference (COP1) took place in Berlin, Germany in 1995. Since then, the annual summit has become the birthplace of significant climate legislation, including the Kyoto Protocol (COP3), the Copenhagen Accord (COP15), and the Paris Agreement (COP21). Signed by over 190 countries, the latter reinforced the global commitment to keeping global temperature rise well below 2ºC above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, with efforts to limit it to 1.5ºC. At the time of COP27, however, current policies put the chance of global temperature rise above 2ºC at more than 90 percent.Financing climate action
Over a decade ago, during COP15 in Copenhagen, Denmark, developed countries agreed to mobilize 100 billion U.S. dollars each year until 2020 for climate finance, i.e., for helping developing countries pay for climate adaptation and mitigation measures. Nevertheless, that target has consistently failed to be met. In 2020, climate finance mobilized by developed countries stood just above 80 billion U.S. dollars, the highest annual value on record. Another source of criticism regarding climate finance is that loans reign as the main mechanism used, further burdening many already-indebted developing nations. The terms of the new collective target to go into effect from 2025 are expected to be one of the main points of discussion at COP27.In addition to climate adaptation and mitigation support, COP27 is expected to see a push for loss and damage finance. The term loss and damage within the UNFCCC context refers to the impacts of climate change that have already taken place or cannot be avoided by mitigation – including the loss of land, lives, and livelihood – and that disproportionately affect low-income countries that have made little contribution to emissions in the past centuries. For example, small island nations such as Vanuatu and Tonga were among the most vulnerable to natural disasters as of 2021.
Renewables and the path to energy security
With Russia’s war in Ukraine leading natural gas and fuel prices to soar and threatening energy security worldwide, the deployment of renewables has taken the spotlight once more, as a reliable alternative to volatile fossil fuels supplies. In Europe, climate targets such as the Fit for 55 and RePowerEU packages see renewable sources making up 40 percent of the region’s energy mix by mid-century. Across the Atlantic, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed in August 2022 has become one of the most important climate legislations ever passed in the U.S. Policy provisions in the IRA are forecast to boost the share of clean sources in electricity generation to at least 60 percent by 2030, as opposed to the 46 percent expected without the IRA. Meanwhile, developing access to reliable and sustainable electricity in Africa, where rich fossil fuel resources remain untapped, is also expected to be a focal point during COP27 negotiations.
