Looking to the future – reflections and insights on COP27 from British Expertise International and its members
In the world of climate, the dust is finally beginning to settle after an action-packed two weeks in Sharm El Sheikh for COP27. This was the first COP to be held in Africa since 2016, with 190 countries represented and an estimated 35,000 delegates in attendance. Running from the 6th of November, with a blend of high level side events, key negotiations, conferences and numerous pavilions showcasing climate action through different key sectors and across the globe, all eyes were on Egypt and its outcomes. Together with our members, we have reflected on five key areas:
- The increasing importance of bio-diversity
- Decarbonisation – is a just transition synonymous with energy security?
- The Action to Ambition Gap needs closing urgently
- A significant and growing role for the private sector
- Progress on Loss and Damages
COP27 and COP15 – Putting Biodiversity Front and Centre
In the wake of COP27, COP15 will be held in Montreal this month with a focus on biodiversity. Here, governments and civil society from around the world will come to set and agree on new goals for up to 2030 to halt and reverse natural biodiversity loss. Calls prior to this conference are calling for an adoption of an equitable and comprehensive framework matched by the financing needed for implementation. If COP27 is anything to go by, then there will hopefully be a seat at the table for the alignment of global financial flows with nature toward sustainable investment and protection of vital resources.
The climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis have long been treated as separate issues but there is no viable route to staying under 1.5°C of warming without protecting and restoring nature. Both crises are intrinsically linked, and meeting the ambitions of the Paris Climate Agreement runs in tandem with the successful conservation, restoration and management of biodiversity. COP15 will be the largest biodiversity conference in a decade with countries attempting to put together an agreement on protecting and restoring nature, to be called the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. At COP26 in Glasgow, a Pledge for Nature was signed by leaders to recognise the interlinkages between biodiversity loss and exacerbating climate change by “debilitating nature’s ability to sequester or store carbon”.
The aim of COP15 will be to further build upon this agreement, with the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework holding a blend of long-term goals for 2050 and 21 action-orientated targets for 2030. This agreement will outline collective goals on a global scale as well as targets for individual states to achieve to play their role in halting and safeguarding plants, animals and ecosystems. The two weeks of talks commencing in December will host sessions to agree on mobilisation of funds to implement the new frameworks, and how wealthier countries will align their resources to provide aid to poorer states to preserve their vital ecosystems.
COP27 was the first to dedicate an entire day to Biodiversity, in which a space was created to advance and institutionalise action toward safeguarding, restoring and sustainability utilising biodiversity across all global ecosystems.
Decarbonisation – is a just transition synonymous with energy security?
The politics surrounding the usage of fossil fuels and the phasedown of coal acted as a trigger point for arguments surrounding the necessity of an accelerated energy transition, this now being more necessary than ever to ensure global energy security. This works in tandem with the climate justice movement’s calls for a just transition for workers as the global agenda must work to adapt to a wholehearted shift away from fossil fuels in a way that is focused and targeted, without leaving developing states trapped in high emissions scenarios.
For the second year running, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) were at the forefront of hosting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG7) Pavilion at COP27, becoming the main focal point for discussing how to unite global efforts on energy, climate and development. Here was launched the GEAPP’s Powering People and Planet Report, alongside the new Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI), dedicated to expanding the African continent’s place in voluntary carbon markets. Across the broader COP, an agreement was made to create a new Energy Transition Accelerator, where an ETA will be designed to produce verifiable GHG emission reductions in which participating members will be able to issue marketable carbon credits.
During COP27, Arup, another one of our members, became a new signatory to the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy Compact, a global community that provides the support, tools, and partners that organizations need to enable them to meet their full electricity demands with carbon-free resources at every level. When we spoke to Mark Neller, Arup Director & Energy Leader for the UK, India, Middle East and Africa on his return from COP he emphasised that “Over 2 billion people worldwide still cook on open fires and 900 million still have little or no access to electricity. These needs must be met with sustainable solutions that do not further exacerbate the climate crisis. Action to achieve SDG7 not only encompasses decarbonisation but must also safeguard and create sustainable energy usage for all. Arup has the skills and resources to support its clients achieve this”.
It is critical to build on this positive momentum and carry this through to ensure vulnerable countries and their needs are kept are the forefront of this discourse. As the climate crisis abounds, we are seeing a shift from target setting, to one of implementation. The Action to Ambition gap was central to many conversations throughout the two weeks, with an agreement for a Global Stock Take to be implemented for COP28, in which a review of every nation’s NDC progression will take place as there has been insufficient progress on decarbonisation globally. A further 5% of the value of credits generated through the Emissions Trade Agreement (ETA) will be dedicated to international adaptation projects.
The Action to Ambition Gap needs closing urgently
Louise James, Managing Director, Accenture Development Partnerships commented, “… as we reflect on COP27 our overarching view is that the ambition to action gap for all remains significant. We see very limited progress aside from “loss and damage” on the “Narrow COP” in other words the decision making process by governments to the UNFCCC. However we feel more positive regarding the results from the “broad COP” with continued and growing momentum from businesses and civil society – however this momentum is not enough and COP28 will be critical for ratcheting up the ambition level.” This stance has been widely reflected throughout conversations during COP27, as they revolved around private investment in climate finance as a hugely growing tool in the fight against climate change.
The climate financing gap remains, as wealthy nations have not met the promise of $100 billion to poorer countries by 2020, with a deficit of $17 billion currently standing. Richard Smithers, Climate Adaptation Lead at Ricardo Energy & Environment iterated that “although the aforementioned $100 billion per year of climate finance committed by the Global North in 2009 remains unmet, COP27 reaffirmed this goal and the promise at Glasgow to double the proportion given to adaptation, which currently resides at $20 billion”.
As the climate crisis and its impacts become more intense and widespread, so too will the expense increase to mitigate, adapt and safeguard against it, and it is here the private sector has a huge role to play.
A significant and growing role for the private sector
Private finance has the opportunity to not only fill the climate financing debt, but to surpass it and go beyond ensuring investments have a return in playing their role in safeguarding an equitable and sustainable future for all. Much is still to be done in shaping private finance in line with net zero commitments, and as noted by Phil Marker, Principal Consultant from Oxford Policy Management,
“There were a huge number of discussions on aligning global finance flows to net zero or taking climate finance from “billions to trillions” as some sessions termed it”. Phil also reported that there was some welcome attention to accelerating investment in adaption to climate change (in areas such as drop irrigation or more targeted use of fertiliser), which has been a much-neglected topic.
there was a large discussion point on a call for Multilateral Development Banks (MDB’s) to adapt their practices to address how climate finance itself works and whether it is fit for purpose in many countries where it is not a viable option due to economic constraints.
Increased climate financing in itself is a cause for optimism, as it demonstrates a global push through many different actors to allocation of funding to projects and programmes aimed at a Net Zero future and to safeguard environmental interests on a large scale. This push needs to come not only in the programmes implemented but also at an operational level in the corporate sector. When we reached out to Christopher Perine, Climate Group Managing Director for Chemonics, another one of our members, he commented that “the next few years will prove critical to assessing the strength and durability of corporate commitment to these pledges [such as Loss and Damages], as we all watch to see whether greenhouse gas emissions among corporations decrease in line with their expressed targets”.
The private sector has the ability not only to fund hugely needed projects and programmes, but to also carry them out in a broad array of sectors. The construction sector is one major player in this sphere, as alliterated by Peter McGettrick, Managing Director, Advisory, for Turner and Townsend, “Inflationary pressures and supply chain disruption have had a significant impact on delivering complex major projects and programmes, but by driving efficiencies we can stay the course and continue to advance towards net zero... we need to present a united front in transforming our ways of working, and the outcomes of major projects and programmes we are delivering whilst keeping up the pressure for change.”
The private sector, although vulnerable to external shocks, has the means, resources and expertise required to make a huge tangible contribution to mitigate and adapt to the realities of climate change on a global scale. The African Green Finance Collation (AGFC) was launched by The Kenyan Treasury, UNECA, IFAD and FSD, with the support of our members Adam Smith International (ASI). This monumental initiative, as explained by Nick Haslam, Head of Climate Change for ASI, “will address the policy, fiscal and institutional space through governments, peer learning and review while also encouraging the deployment of initiatives and instruments that allow direct investment in climate resilience and sustainable interventions”.
Progress on Loss and Damages
On 29th November 2022, a historic decision was made to establish a Loss and Damages fund, in which a pooled fund was agreed upon by member states to support low income countries with climate disasters. Issues were highlighted by member states surrounding the nature of the language within the text itself, as many felt it was not stringent enough on the reduction of fossil fuel usage and the phase out of coal. The agreement itself was made, with a decision to create a transitional committee who will make recommendations to be adopted at COP28 in Dubai next year.
The “fine print”, in terms of who will contribute to the fund, the channelling of said funding and the beneficiaries has yet to be written, was mentioned by Laura Rizzotto, Principal Consultant - Climate from Pegasys, who sited that “these considerations will be critical for actual impact and must be worked out next year and beyond”. As the goal of limiting 1.5°C looms over us all, each decision must be well calculated and help us to take the correct steps in aid of a holistic and sustainable future.
What else did we note?
This year’s COP also unfortunately showcased the gender disparity that continues to infiltrate our daily lives, at an individual and collective level. Despite women being at the forefront of the Climate Change movement – and most discriminately impacted by the negative impacts of climate change –of the 110 leaders present at COP27, only seven were women. Speaking to Serena Reynell, International Policy Assistant for the Law Society, we learned that there was only one panel that was all-female and representative of the climate change movement, which included five top experts across different fields. Yet, women were painfully unrepresented in the positions at the highest levels.
The case of where the COP itself is held also needs to be addressed, currently appearing to be decided on a bidding bar basis. It is critical that COP is hosted in countries that are most affected by climate change, not those with the most lobbying power.
The overarching sentiment stemming from COP27 is one of grim determination, with steps taken – albeit not the optimum outcome – but the transition from target setting to implementation is huge, and COP27 will go down in history as the year in which a Loss and Damages agreement was finally tabled. All eyes will be on COP28 to ensure this agreement is safeguarded and implemented in a way that protects the most vulnerable. Tense and uncomfortable conversations were had, and these will continue to be had in the fight for climate justice and a more sustainable future for all.
Whilst progress is being made there remain significant challenges. More pace is needed, more alignment and more focus; and COP15 will be a necessary and useful staging post on the way to COP28.
As we prepare for this next round of conferencing at COP15 and reflect on the conversations held at COP27, it is evident that strides are being taken in the correct direction, but resolve and commitment are vital to steady the course.
Written by Katie Duffy, with thanks to all members for their generous time, effort and insights.
Katie Duffy is a Programme Executive at British Expertise International, with a particular focus on the climate adaptation and resilience spheres. Katie joined the Climate team as she is passionate about social justice and the intersectional aspects of the climate crisis, having completed an MSc in Climate Change: Policy, Media and Society at Dublin City University in 2021.
