Irish Examiner view: Progress is made at Cop27 but worry lingers

No mention of the phasing out of fossil fuels and scant reference to the 1.5C target

An Egyptian woman posts a patriotic message on an artificial tree set up for people to hang a note saying what promise they will make to help fight climate change. Picture: AP Photo/Thomas Hartwell

In some ways, the dénouement of the Cop 27 talks at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt at the weekend was pretty predictable: frenzied last-minute negotiations; divided opinions and snotty threats to collapse the talks; a curve ball from the European Union; and finally, a last-minute deal which everyone signed up for.

A successful week, then?

Well, perhaps, but with lingering and real concerns about the honesty and commitment of the globe’s biggest players — including the US, China and the EU — to the process of fighting the scourge of global warming. 

And, with growing economies such as India and Brazil coming ever-more into the equation, the whole picture about the economies of climate change has become ever-clearer.

The unexpected introduction by the EU of a system to come up with financial assistance, obliquely called ‘loss and damage,’ to poorer nations who suffer most from the ravages of climate disaster and yet who have done least to cause it, called for on these pages last week, was successful after marathon negotiations and very welcome.

But the clouding of the target of reaching a point where the world can contain temperatures rising beyond a 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, beyond which scientists say we should not breach, was unsatisfactory as current policies indicate a temperature increase of the order of 2.8 decrees which would devastate the lives of billions of people and threaten countless ecosystems.

The lack of mention in the final text from Sharm el-Sheikh of the phasing out of fossil fuels and scant reference to the 1.5C target is worrying and seems to indicate a weakening of requirements from the big economic powers to make new and more ambitious climate commitments. Then there is also the continued influence of the big oil producing countries who appear to have been successful in thwarting efforts to strengthen the deal.

Host nation, Egypt, has taken some of the blame for protecting neighbouring alliances in the formulation of a deal — a claim it denies — but the fact the next COP will take place in Dubai and be hosted by the United Arab Emirates, which is a massive oil exporter, does not inspire confidence.

Right now, it is nearly remarkable we have come so for in such a short time and that the target of a sub-2 degree is still possible, especially as credible estimates originally considered we only had an eight per cent chance of achieving it. But the work has to continue, and it is crucial that internecine bickering does not derail us from the ultimate aim.

We have seen progress in the past week but, as ever, that is not something which can be taken for granted.

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