Briefing Series: What Congress Needs to Know About COP27

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to watch a briefing on the implications of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) most recent report—the Sixth Assessment Report—for the upcoming international climate negotiations in Egypt (COP27) and for work on Capitol Hill. The IPCC Assessment Reports are designed to pull together information from around the globe on climate change, including on the physical science; climate impacts and adaptation; and possible greenhouse gas emission trajectories and mitigation opportunities.

Panelists, who participated in drafting sections of the report, discussed key findings from the report and how the information could be used by decision-makers at the national and international levels.

Key Takeaways

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was founded as a scientific body that reviews and assesses the most recent information produced worldwide that is relevant to understanding climate change. The organization now has 195 member countries.

• Recent changes in the climate are widespread, rapid, and intensifying. They are unprecedented thousands of years. It is indisputable that human activities are causing climate change. Climate change is already affecting every region on Earth in multiple ways. The changes we experience will increase with further warming.

• Currently, greenhouse gas emissions will lead to global warming of 3.2 degrees Celsius (5.76 degrees Fahrenheit). To reach the goal of keeping warming below 1.5°C (2.7°F), global carbon dioxide emissions must reach their highest levels before 2025 and must be reduced by 43 percent by 2030. In the same timeframe, methane emissions must be reduced by a third.

• Climate adaptation saves lives, reduces risks, and has multiple benefits, but it is not equally implemented throughout the world. To accelerate adaptation there needs to be political commitment; strong institutional frameworks; robust and flexible institutions enhancing knowledge; improved monitoring; accountability; and inclusive governance that prioritizes equity and justice.

• Closing investment gaps will also be necessary to decrease overall emissions. Financial flows are currently three to six times lower than the levels needed by 2030.

• The Sixth Assessment Report found that human influence on the atmosphere, ocean, and land components of the climate system, taken together, is assumed as unequivocal for the first time in any IPCC assessment report.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to view a briefing on what you need to know about loss and damage from climate change in the lead-up to the international climate negotiations in Egypt (COP27). The topic of loss and damage, defined as climate impacts that cannot be adapted to, is expected to be one of the most discussed issues at COP27. Impacts like land loss in Louisiana and homes falling into the ocean in North Carolina are being felt around the world. Leaders are reckoning with how to address this growing challenge, particularly in countries without the financial and technical tools needed to respond. 

Panelists discussed the tools the international community designed so far to address loss and damage, the current status of international climate negotiations on this issue, expectations of what might happen next on the topic at COP27, and why the international conversation on loss and damage matters for U.S. policymakers.

Key Takeaways

• Loss and damage is defined as harm from observed impacts and projected risks due to climate change. Such loss and damage can be either economic (i.e., harms where a monetary value can be assigned), or non-economic (i.e., harms incurred on things not traded in markets or which are hard to assign a monetary value to).

• Losses and damages are already happening. Current levels of global warming at 1.1°C (1.98°F) above preindustrial levels have already caused dangerous and widespread losses and damages to nature and billions of people, despite efforts to adapt to climate change.

• The "Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability" section of the 6th Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides the most robust assessment of research on loss of damage that the IPCC has conducted to date.

• “Forced displacement” and “distress migration” are common consequences of loss and damage across different types of climate impacts and geographies.

• In recent years, the United States has been increasingly constructive on the substance of loss and damage in negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The two main issues at COP27 are operationalizing the technical assistance network for loss and damage, called the Santiago Network, and creating a loss and damage finance facility.

• Current forms of foreign assistance, like humanitarian aid and disaster relief, normally only cover immediate responses right after a disaster happens. These forms of support also do not address loss and damage coming from slow onset events, such as drought, sea level rise, desertification, and freshwater salinization.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and U.S. Nature4Climate invite you to watch a briefing on natural climate solutions on the international stage. Across the United States, agricultural producers are practicing regenerative agriculture, foresters are managing forests to increase carbon sequestration and reduce wildfires, and coastal communities are restoring living shorelines. How will these natural climate solutions be discussed and advanced during the international climate negotiations in Egypt (COP27)? What policies are needed here in the United States to reinforce these efforts? What examples of U.S. leadership on natural climate solutions should be shared with people from around the world at COP27?  

During this briefing, panelists responded to these questions and shared insights about ways in which natural climate solutions have been integrated into international climate negotiations in the past. They also shared a vision of how these techniques can be central to advancing climate solutions at the national and international levels going forward. 

Key Takeaways

• According to U.S. Nature4Climate, natural climate solutions “are conservation, restoration, and improved land management strategies that help remove carbon from the air while also keeping our air and water clean and our soil healthy and productive.”

• About 37 percent (or more than a third) of the global emission reductions needed by 2030 to keep the rise in global average temperature below 2°C (3.6°F) can come from natural climate solutions.

• At COP27, the United States will prioritize forest and ecosystem conservation to bolster critical carbon sinks. The United States is seeking to catalyze private sector investment while simultaneously increasing the ambition of governments and other stakeholders. The United States has pledged $9 billion in international climate funding to support forest conservation. 

• The United States’ nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement specifies that blue carbon ecosystems (i.e., coastal wetlands) are important in reducing emissions. The United States is among 71 countries that included ocean-based measures in their updated climate goals.

• Methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, will be a topic of conversation at COP27. Forty percent of all methane emissions come from the agricultural sector. The United States may be able to decrease methane emissions by 25 percent by 2030, and other countries could achieve an even greater reduction by increasing the efficiency of their technologies.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to view a briefing on what to expect during the upcoming international climate negotiations in Egypt (COP27). 

Last year, the global community agreed on the final set of guidelines to implement the Paris Agreement, so this year marks the start of a new era of international cooperation on climate change, focused on implementation. As such, COP27 is set to cover a wide range of topics, including loss and damage, climate finance, and planning for the first global stocktake of each country’s progress towards its Paris Agreement goals. 

Panelists unpacked the overall process of international climate negotiations, explained the key areas of negotiation expected to be at play at COP27, reviewed possible outcomes, discussed how new U.S. laws impact the path forward, and explored what it all means for Congress.

Key Takeaways

• Key issues at play at COP27 are mitigation, adaptation, international climate finance, loss and damage, and the global stocktake during which countries collectively assess progress towards the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming well below 2°C (3.6°F). 

• The first global stocktake’s technical assessment, happening in 2022 and 2023, includes three technical dialogues on mitigation, adaptation, and means of implementation. The United States can be active in these roundtables and take leadership in looking at the kinds of data and assessments that are needed to collectively make sure that countries are staying on track to meet Paris Agreement goals.

• Loss and damage, or the impacts of climate change that cannot be adapted to, will also be a focus at COP27. There may be a push for a fund for loss and damage at COP27.

• Adaptation will be another key issue area where focus will be on doubling adaptation finance, increasing transparency, and establishing a global goal on adaptation. 

• The Inflation Reduction Act closes about two-thirds of the gap between current policy and the United States' 2030 goal of reducing emissions 50-52 percent below 2005 levels. 

• Ultimately, delivering on the U.S. commitments under the Paris Agreement is a shared responsibility that cannot rely only on the federal government but must be a whole-of-society approach.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to view a briefing that reviewed what took place during the international climate negotiations in Egypt (COP27) and why it matters for Congress.

With dozens of events and negotiating sessions happening at any one time during the two weeks of a U.N. climate summit, it can be challenging to keep up with all the details. This briefing reviewed the key outcomes of COP27—and what they mean for Congress—and provided context and nuance to the main headlines coming out of the meeting. Panelists provided perspectives and key takeaways from the federal government, U.S. states, philanthropy, and nongovernmental organization perspectives.

Key Takeaways

• COP27 was an opportunity for U.S. leaders to showcase the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169) on the international stage and to help other countries enable greater ambition by working with the private sector, bilateral partners, and multilateral actors.

• In the negotiations, countries agreed to a groundbreaking decision to establish a fund for addressing loss and damage, the culmination of 30 years of efforts by developing countries.

• During COP27 and the G20 Summit, President Biden announced a new Just Energy Transition Partnership with Indonesia. The Just Energy Transition Partnerships are designed for the United States and other developed countries to work with developing countries that are large emitters to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

• COP27 saw more conversation on aligning the practices of multilateral development banks and other financial institutions with the Paris Agreement. The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, launched the Bridgetown Initiative, which calls for a transformation of the financial system to make it more fair and just.

• Congressional delegations attended COP27, including members from the House and Senate as well as Republicans and Democrats.