COP27, Day 9: Civil Society & Energy

Ahram Online , Tuesday 15 Nov 2022

Ahram Online is providing daily live update coverage of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27) taking place in the Egyptian Red Sea city of Sharm El-Sheikh from 6-18 November.

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People demonstrate at the Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Centre, in Egypt s Red Sea resort city of the same name, during the COP27 climate conference on Novmeber 15, 2022. AFP

22:20 ACE & Civil Society

ACE & Civil Society Day was a platform for dynamic, inclusive and transparent dialogue. Experiences of communities at risk, best practices and solutions, partnerships etc.

21:00 High level meetings for Brazil at COP27. President-elect Lula meets with US envoy for Climate John Kerry and China's Xie Zhenhua.

20:00 ACE & Civil Society Day wrap up

At the 'Intro Plenary Session', speakers discussed the importance of partnering with civil societies, acknowledging their contributions to the UN Climate change process and its previous and current accomplishments.

Dr. Nivine El-Kabbage - Minister of Social Solidarity shed light on the need for States Parties to realize the commitments to promote multi stakeholders that are inclusive and geared towards implementation.

18:50 Campaigners urged the COP27 summit to fight disinformation that undermines efforts to limit deadly global warming, as a survey showed millions of people believe climate change falsehoods.

In an open letter, the campaigners called on UN climate talks delegates and social media giants to adopt a common definition of climate disinformation and misinformation, and work to prevent it.

They also urged the bosses of seven digital giants, including Facebook, Google and Twitter, to implement tough polices preventing false climate information spreading on their platforms, similar to measures taken on the Covid-19 pandemic.

18:20 Brazil president-elect Lula da Silva arrived in Egypt in order to join the conference.

18:00 Energy day wrap up

The day kicked off with high-level remarks on the need for a just and equitable energy transition.

"The science is clear: global emissions need to be reduced by half by 2030, reaching net-zero by 2050. To achieve this, we need to invest in new sources of energy that are clean, affordable, accessible, sustainable and reliable." - COP27 President Sameh Shoukry.

16:45 Eight countries pledged new funding for the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) during the COP27 climate summit and several others backed the funds’ ambitious goals for meeting the most urgent adaptation needs.

Announcing a total of $105.6 million in new funding, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Walloon Region of Belgium, stressed the need for even more support for the Global Environment Facility funds targeting the immediate climate adaptation needs of low-lying and low-income states.

Additionally, countries including Belgium, Canada, France, and the United States, as well the European Commission, signaled political support for the two funds, and some expressed an intention to contribute further in the coming months. Several welcomed the SCCF’s dedicated focus on Small Island Developing States as a key avenue of climate finance that is otherwise lacking.

16:00 U.S. climate envoy John Kerry met with his Chinese counterpart in a further hint of improving relations between the world's top two polluters a day after a meeting between their leaders. 

Kerry met with China's top climate official Xie Zhenhua in a room at the Chinese delegation's offices in the COP27 conference zone.

Neither Kerry nor Chinese officials said anything as the meeting started.

15:30 Egypt’s COP27 presidency announced the launch of the session titled “Civil Society and Shaping the Global Climate Agenda: Legacy and Prospects,” which aims to promote engagement with civil society and localisation of climate action.

15:00 In an interview with Ahram Online on the sidelines of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Valvanera Ulargui, the director of the Spanish Office for Climate Change, said “The fundamental issue for us is maintain trust and continue advancing to be able to comply in time with the matters agreed to at Paris in 2015 and at Glasgow in 2021.”

"We need agreements that include the need to be more resilient, with more prevention and adaptation measures, and to deal with impacts throughout the world, but especially in the most vulnerable countries that are suffering from natural disasters that entail losses and damages.”

Read the full interview here

14:30 Egypt is hosting the first technical panel discussion on the Global Renewable Hydrogen Council Forum.

14:00 UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt Mahmoud Mohieldin said in a session titled "Resilience Imperative" that it is necessary to mobilise more investments to enhance the resilience of infrastructures in the face of climate change. 

Mohieldin underlined the importance of expanding the scope of concessional financing, which contributes to directing more private sector investments to sectors that are difficult to finance. 

"We look forward to achieving more public-private partnerships during the remaining days of the COP27," he added.

13:45 The ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the U.N. told ministers Tuesday that the island nation won't leave the summit without a fund for climate-related loss and damage caused in large part by industrialized nations to developing ones.

``As we see the inaction of many developed countries the potential to stall talks and land a devastating blow for us as small island developing states is looming,'' Conrod Hunte said in an address.

``Antigua and Barbuda will not leave here without a loss and damage fund.''

Hunte slammed developed nations for continuing to use and even ramp up fossil fuels.

``The system is being gamed at our expense as small island developing states and the expense of future generations,'' he said.

13:00 In an interview with Bloomberg TV published on Tuesday, the COP27 President Sameh Shoukry expressed his hope that a deal on loss and damage can be reached this week at the climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Shoukry said he would work to reach a “definitive landing zone” that is “satisfactory” for all parties on this issue, which was placed for the first time as an item on a COP agenda.

 


People demonstrate at the Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Centre, in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of the same name, during the COP27 climate conference on Novmeber 15, 2022. AFP

11:30 The European Union vowed at UN climate talks on Tuesday that it will strengthen its carbon-cutting commitment, insisting that the bloc was not "backtracking" in the face of the Ukraine war, according to the AFP.

Armed with new plans to curb greenhouse gases, the EU says it will be able to exceed its original plan to cut emissions by 55 percent by 2030 with a new goal of over 57 percent, from 1990 levels.

"The European Union is here to move forwards, not backwards," European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told delegates at the COP27.

11:00 US Presidential Climate Envoy John Kerry indicated on Tuesday he will conduct talks with China's top climate official Xie Zhenhua at COP27, AP reported.

The announcement is the latest sign of improving relations between the world's top two polluters after the two nations' leaders met Monday at the ongoing G20 summit in Indonesia, AP added.

10:00 The day is set to start with an introductory plenary session titled "Civil Society and Shaping the Global Climate Agenda: Legacy and Prospects".  The session aims to showcase the role of civil society in shaping the global climate agenda and implementation of the pledges.

09:30 Rich nations pledged Tuesday to raise at least $20 billion to help wean Indonesia off coal and reach carbon neutrality by 2050, a decade earlier than planned, the White House said.

The United States, Japan, Canada and six European countries signed the accord with Jakarta on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali to ensure a "just power sector transition" away from Indonesia's coal-dependent economy, they said in a statement released by the White House.

Day 9, 15 November - ACE and Civil Society Day / Energy Day

10:00-13:00 Mandated events and workshops Second part of the high-level segment

13:00-15:00 Lunch

15:00-18:00 Mandated events and workshops Second part of the high-level segment

 

Relive

COP27, Day 1: Loss and damage funding introduced as an agenda item (Click here).

COP27, Day 2: Sisi urges world leaders to move to concrete action on climate (Click here).

COP27, DAY 3: President launches the 'Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda' (Click here).

COP27, Day 4: Climate finance in a polycrisis era (Click here).

COP27, Day 5: Science and Future Generations Day (Click here).

COP27, Day 6: Decarbonisation challenge (Click here).

COP27, Day 7: Adaptation and Agriculture (Click here).

COP27, Day 8: Gender & Water Day (Click here).

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