COP27, or the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, concluded last Nov. 20, 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. Based on the closing statement of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the two-week event took “an important step toward climate justice.”
“I welcome the decision to establish a ‘loss and damage fund’ and to operationalize it in the coming period,” Guterres said, as he underscored the fact that voices of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis must be heard.
“Loss and damage,” as the UN defines it, “are those arising from the adverse effects of climate change, which include those related to extreme weather events but also slow onset events, such as sea level rise, increasing temperatures, ocean acidification, glacial retreat and related impacts, salinization, land and forest degradation, loss of biodiversity and desertification.” To put it simply, “loss and damage” is the result of human-induced climate change, which has caused widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people.
Through the years, establishing a funding mechanism to compensate vulnerable nations for “loss and damage” from climate-induced disasters has been a thorny issue. It could also be recalled that the Philippines, in past and present COP meets, has called for this compensatory move. No less than the President, in his first UN General Assembly address, said that the country is the “least responsible yet suffers the most from climate change.”
“The Philippines is a net carbon sink… we absorb more carbon dioxide than we emit. And yet, we are the fourth most vulnerable nation to the effects of climate change,” the President said. “This injustice must be corrected, and those who need to do more must act now. Industrialized countries must fulfill their obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Paris Agreement to cut their greenhouse gas emissions, provide climate financing and technology transfer.” This statement forms the foundation of the stand of the Philippines on the negotiation table.
During days of intense negotiations, developing countries made strong and repeated appeals for the establishment of a “loss and damage fund” to compensate countries most vulnerable to climate change, yet contributed little to it.
“Clearly this will not be enough, but it is a much-needed political signal to rebuild broken trust,” Guterres said.
Though COP27 presented a step toward climate justice, some governments and organizations were not satisfied with the outcome, as there were gaps and challenges that were not addressed. The UN chief acknowledged it and reminded the world of the remaining priorities regarding climate action, including the ambition to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and keep alive the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree Celsius limit.
“We need to drastically reduce emissions now — and this is an issue that this COP didn’t address,” Guterres lamented. He said that the world still needs to “make a giant leap on climate ambition, and to end its addiction to fossil fuels by investing in renewable energy.”
It turns out that the conclusion of the COP27 summit is just the beginning of more work needed for the planet. Reiterating a statement from Kenyan environmental activist Elizabeth Wathuti, she said, “COP27 may be over, but the fight for a safe future is not. It is now more urgent than ever that political leaders work to agree on a global deal to protect and restore nature.”
Now, more than ever, Filipinos must not waver in the call for climate justice as our future, and our children's future, which is now at stake.