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COP 27

The meetings review the progress made by countries in the fight against climate change.

Table of Content

Recently, the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2022 — COP27 was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Key Points:

About COP

The Conference of Parties (COP) is the apex decision-making body of the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC).
It has representatives from each country that signed the Paris Agreement.
It meets annually to assess the progress in implementing decisions taken in earlier COPs.

UNFCCC

UNFCC was formed in 1994 to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions and to protect the earth from the threat of climate change.

Key Highlights of COP 27

COP27 goals:
- Mitigation: Urged nations to lead by example in reducing emissions to limit global warming below 2°C.
- Adaptation: Enhance climate change resilience and assist the world’s most vulnerable communities.
- Finance: Delivery of the promised $100 billion per year to assist developing countries.
- Collaboration: As the UN negotiations are consensus-based, reaching an agreement will require inclusive and active participation from all stakeholders.
COP27 agreed to include ‘loss and damage’ in the main agenda.
It seeks to accelerate global climate action through emissions reduction and the building-up of adaptation efforts.

What is ‘Loss and Damage’?

The term “loss and damage” in UN climate negotiations refers to costs the developed countries, should pay to poorer nations that have made a negligible contribution to emissions but are more vulnerable to extreme climate events.
- For example, the devastating floods in Pakistan recently
- It is an extension of the universally acknowledged “Polluter Pays” principle.

Challenge:

- It is difficult to define and assess the damage caused purely due to climate change.