COP27 Dispatch - November 18, 2022

View this newsletter online Subscribe Review EESI Welcome! Today is the last official day at COP27.     Climate Vulnerable Forum Youth Ambassador Nakeeyat Dramani Sam. Credit: UNFCCC While today is the last official day of the conference, the summit is expected to continue into the weekend due to unresolved issues on the negotiating table. At a COP27 informal stocktaking plenary, Climate Vulnerable Forum Youth Ambassador Nakeeyat Dramani Sam, a 10-year-old climate activist from Ghana, delivered a powerful message to countries: “I know you don’t want to be the ones we judge severely, come tomorrow. You wouldn’t steal our planet Earth from us when you are in this land of peace. Show us your courage. Be our heroes instead.” The last issue of COP27 Dispatch will be published on Monday summarizing the main conclusions of the conference. EESI will also host a Congressional briefing on Friday, December 2, to examine the outcomes of COP27 in more detail and what it all means for Congress. RSVP for the briefing here.     Missed yesterday’s issue? Check it out here! Also, explore EESI's glossary of terms and other helpful guides in the Resources section.

While the conference was supposed to end today, it will continue into the weekend due to unresolved issues.   The COP27 Presidency released a first draft of the cover decision text; countries will provide feedback on it to inform a second iteration.   The E.U. put forth a proposal to set up a fund for loss and damage that would provide support for the most vulnerable countries, which would start to address a core goal that many developing countries have long been advocating for. Sections   Negotiations   |   EESI COP27 Resources   |   Resources Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans at the negotiating table. Credit: UNFCCC COP27 Presidency update: Special Representative of the COP27 President Wael Aboulmagd led an afternoon press conference on the status of the negotiations. He stated that COP27 President Sameh Shoukry was meeting with countries to discuss their concerns on the current draft of the cover decision, which was released earlier in the day. Aboulmagd also said that he was going to a Heads of Delegation meeting after the press conference to receive feedback on the 10-page document, which many country representatives and observers have raised concerns about. It is likely that after getting this feedback, the COP27 Presidency will create a second draft of the text for review. ► EESI Briefing: What’s on the Table for the Negotiations? Loss and damage fund: The E.U. submitted a written proposal to be considered by all countries on setting up a loss and damage response fund. This is the first substantive proposal for a loss and damage fund from a set of developed countries, a significant shift from previous COPs. According to Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, the fund would provide support for the most vulnerable countries and require contributions from a “broad funder base,” including China, reflecting the financial realities and emission responsibilities of countries in 2022. The announcement represents a potential breakthrough on a solution to the issue of loss and damage finance that many developing countries have been proposing for years. The proposal also calls for all countries to increase their ambition in cutting emissions, including through the phase down of coal, phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies, and the reduction of methane emissions. Timmermans added that this was “a final offer” from the E.U., yet it is unclear if the U.S. is supportive of the fund. Special Envoy for the 58 countries in the Climate Vulnerable Forum Henry Kokofu stated support for the idea but said, “without an actual commitment to funding, we may well just end up with an empty bank account.” ► EESI Briefing: Climate Change Loss and Damage Fossil fuel phase out: The international environmental organization 350.org held a press conference to discuss the absence of language about the phase out of fossil fuels in the first draft of the cover decision text. Head of Global Campaigning and Organizing Zeina Khalil Hajj said: “There is no implementation without the phase out of fossil fuels.” The Glasgow Climate Pact, which was the agreement that came out of COP26, called for the “phasedown of unabated coal power,” and press conference panelists were hoping that COP27 would expand on that, instead of going backwards, as they feel like this cover decision draft has done. Tuvalu Minister of Finance Seve Paeniu emphasized the need for the international community to call for a phase out—not a phase down—of coal, oil, and gas in the cover decision. ► EESI Fact Sheet: Climate, Environmental, and Health Impacts of Fossil Fuels COP28 Presidency: Majid Al Suwaidi, director general of COP28 for the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), spoke at the closing plenary of COP27 yesterday evening. The U.A.E. will host COP28 from November 30 to December 12, 2023, when countries will conduct the first Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement. He highlighted that “we will have to be honest about where we are falling short, and we will have to radically accelerate progress on all fronts.” The U.A.E. is a significant fossil fuel producer, and the country also makes substantial investments in renewable energy. Based on Al Suwaidi’s remarks, technology seems like it may emerge as a key theme for COP28. View from the COP27 Green Zone. Credit: UNFCCC Find all of EESI’s COP27 Resources here. Announcements tracker: To date, we have tracked 75 announcements at COP27, including 25 international declarations and announcements that include the U.S. The announcements are organized by involvement of the federal government or subnational governments and by topic, including adaptation, clean energy, climate finance, forests, shipping, and the ocean.   Reports tracker: EESI has tracked 39 reports, tools, and plans launched at COP27. Reports cover topics from early warning systems and climate vulnerability to the emissions gap and further actions the U.S. needs to take to meet its climate targets.    U.S. leaders at COP27: This tracker compiles a list of U.S. elected and appointed officials who attended COP27, including 24 members of Congress, 25 federal officials, three governors, and more than a dozen state and local officials.   Post-COP27 Congressional briefing: Join us on December 2 from 3-4:30 p.m. for a Congressional briefing, Climate Summit Recap: Key Outcomes and What Comes Next, featuring Jesse Young from the State Department, Preety Bhandari of the World Resources Institute, Helen Mountford of ClimateWorks, and Casey Katims of the U.S. Climate Alliance. RSVP here.   Articles: EESI articles on COP27 include coverage of progress on COP26 announcements, what the Inflation Reduction Act means for international climate efforts, the connections between climate change and biodiversity, and a look at sea level rise and adaptation efforts.    Additional resources: EESI’s COP27 Congressional briefings covered the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report, loss and damage, natural climate solutions, and issues on the table for the negotiations. EESI has also organized resources according to COP27’s thematic days, which included finance, science, youth, decarbonization, adaptation, and agriculture during week 1 and gender, water, civil society, energy, biodiversity, and solutions during week 2. If you missed an issue of COP27 Dispatch, all issues are archived here.   EESI all year: The best way to keep up with EESI resources all year is to subscribe to Climate Change Solutions, EESI’s biweekly newsletter. EESI resources Articles: Quick reads connecting international climate talks to Congress Briefing series: What Congress Needs to Know About COP27 Key Findings from the Newest Global Assessment Report on Climate Change Climate Change Loss and Damage Natural Climate Solutions What's on the Table for the Negotiations? Climate Summit Recap: Key Outcomes and What Comes Next Climate Change Solutions: Biweekly newsletter covering climate, energy, and environmental issues COP27 Announcement Tracker: Key Announcements from the 2022 U.N. Climate Summit COP27 Report Tracker: Key Climate Reports Launched at the 2022 U.N. Climate Summit EESI United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Glossary of Terms Go-to Resources on the Key Themes of COP27 for Week 1 and Week 2 U.S. Leaders at COP27: Members of Congress and Other U.S. Officials at the 2022 U.N. Climate Summit Tracking the negotiations CarbonBrief: Reporting and analysis on the U.N. Climate Talks, with in-depth tracking of country positions in the negotiations. COP27 Resource Hub: World Resources Institute's extensive set of resources on the climate negotiations. Earth Negotiation Bulletin: A play-by-play of the negotiations plus expert analysis from the International Institute for Sustainable Development | @IISD_ENB ECO Newsletter: The climate advocate’s perspective from Climate Action Network International | @CANIntl Background and logistics Egypt COP27 Presidency website: Priorities, details, and logistics for the negotiations | @Cop27P UNFCCC COP27 website: Conference details and all updates on documents produced during the negotiations | @UNFCCC and @UNFCCCDocuments Congressional Research Service: Reports related to the UNFCCC UNFCCC glossary of terms Questions about COP27? Reach out to EESI Policy Manager Anna McGinn with your question and we will get back to you or include the information in an upcoming newsletter. Thanks for reading!   This newsletter covering COP27 will be running from November 7 to November 21. If you thought this newsletter was interesting, forward it to someone you know! If you were forwarded this edition, sign up here. Thank you to EESI staff for their contributions: Anna McGinn, Savannah Bertrand, Emma Johnson, and Amaury Laporte Environmental and Energy Study Institute  Daniel Bresette, Executive Director EESI is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1984 by a bipartisan Congressional caucus to provide timely information and develop innovative policy solutions that set us on a cleaner, more secure and sustainable energy path.