Fears Cop27 could end without progress as key issues remain unresolved 

Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speaks at the Cop27 UN Climate Summit on Wednesday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Picture: AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty

There are real fears the two-week Cop27 climate summit could end without any real progress as a number of key issues remain unresolved.

Leaders from the host country conceded that time is running out to secure deals before the event in Sharm-el-Sheikh winds down this weekend.

Egypt's Cop27 presidency special representative Wael Aboulmagd said: "I think we have a larger than normal number of lingering issues. We would have hoped under the current circumstances to see more willingness to co-operate and accommodate than we are seeing."

While leaders at the separate G20 meeting in Bali agreed to accelerate efforts to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C to avoid the worst effects of climate change, and newly-elected Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced a reinvigorated commitment to climate change action, there was still pessimism in the halls of Cop27 that lasting and meaningful deals could be agreed.

Reuters reported an official close to the talks as saying divisions remain over issues including whether rich nations should set up a fund to cover irreparable damage being wrought by climate change, language addressing fossil fuels use, and whether 1.5C should remain the explicit targeted limit for planetary warming.

"There is concern about how we're to get to the end, and there is concern because we're talking about the biggest problem facing humanity," the official said.

'Loss and damage'

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan cut a frustrated if hopeful figure as he was appointed an EU ministerial representative on so-called "loss and damage" to work alongside European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans.

Mr Ryan told Irish reporters that he felt "the prioritisation of the most vulnerable countries...has been undermined".

"We're serious here. We're serious about providing the greatest possible support for particularly the most vulnerable countries. And I suppose the key task is to turn that intent into a common text that people can rally behind.

"It'll be difficult, it will be probably protracted over the next two days. But we're committed to doing whatever we can to help our union and deliver a good outcome," he said.

"It does have to be real money, but it does have to be money from a variety of sources. Like you could end up with a fund that brings in little money, it takes ages to deliver, is bureaucratic, and not directed and targeted at the most important areas.

So yes, we need real money, but we need real money in the right place and at scale and from different sources.

Some richer countries have been resisting culpability for loss and damage, fearing they would be on the hook for large bills to assist the more vulnerable countries as the fallout from climate change continues.

Mr Ryan said it is important that countries do not lose sight of mitigation, or reducing emissions, as well as adapting to climate change through defence, and compensating for the damage caused.

Vanessa Nakate, of Uganda with Mary Robinson. Picture: AP Photo/Peter Dejong

All are interconnected, he said.

"We cannot lose sight of the need to reduce the emissions. There's a basic concept here. The more mitigation you do, the less adaptation you need to do. The more adaptation you do, the less loss and damage you'd have to do. In other words, you have a resilient system. 

"You need all three, you need mitigation of scale, that reduces the need for adaptation, but you need that at scale to reduce the need for for loss damage, because you can avoid a lot of loss and damage if you invest in adaptation," he said.

Charity Trócaire said it has serious concerns at the lack of progress at Cop27 on the establishment of a loss and damage fund, adding that it fears "the issue will be kicked to touch again as the summit enters its final days".

Head of advocacy and policy, Siobhan Curran, said. “After 30 years of delay, it’s deeply disappointing to see richer countries and blocs continuing to kick this issue to touch.

"So far at COP we have seen pledges of finance, but these are a re-labelling of previous promises. It’s deeply unfair that the world’s poorest countries are being forced to divert much needed public finance for sustainable development into dealing with crises and are incurring massive debt.”

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