The momentous COP27 summit ended earlier this week, after days of debates and discussions on what can be done to mitigate the unfolding climate crisis in the global context. This week’s top stories mostly revolved around the summit and its aftermath.
COP27: Loss and damage fund lone bright spot as agreement leaves much to be desired
The creation of a loss and damage fund, a key demand of the developing countries, was the lone bright spot in the final outcome of COP27, with countries at the Sharm el-Sheikh climate meeting settling for an extremely weak agreement that does little to strengthen the efforts to tackle the main cause of global warming.
There was nothing in the agreement that could lead to greater action on emissions reductions or mobilise greater financial or technological resources to fight climate change. Efforts to inject some stronger provisions on emissions reductions at the last minute on Saturday night did not receive the consent of all parties. A proposal to phase-down all fossil fuels, originally put forward by India and supported by a large number of countries, did not make it to the final agreement. Read on.
At COP27, one hit and many misses
The Sharm el-Sheikh climate meeting will probably always be remembered for its decision to set up a loss and damage fund. This decision has earned it a place among the major milestones in the global response to climate change.
But on most other parameters, the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting — the 27th session of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP27 — proved to be an underachiever. The meeting was built up as the ‘implementation COP’ or the meeting that would accelerate the actions being taken on climate change. The final agreement had little to justify that expectation. Express Resident Editor Amitabh Sinha, who was in Egypt to cover the summit, explains why.
How livestock farmers can help tackle the climate crisis. Africa’s livestock farmers are at the forefront of climate change. Images of parched landscapes littered with the carcasses of starved cattle are becoming all too familiar as droughts increase in frequency and severity.
But cattle farming globally is also one of the causes of climate change. The world’s three billion or more ruminants – cattle, sheep and goats – produce methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, as a by-product of digestion.
All too often, discussions about climate change focus on the negative aspects of livestock production. Another side to the story was heard at the COP27 climate negotiations in Egypt. Read here.
Inside Saudi Arabia’s strategy to keep world hooked on oil:
Shimmering in the desert is a futuristic research center with an urgent mission: Make Saudi Arabia’s oil-based economy greener, and quickly. The goal is to rapidly build more solar panels and expand electric-car use so the kingdom eventually burns far less oil.