The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties COP 27 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC kicks off in Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.
Alok Sharma, President of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference said: “We achieve our objective, the goal of the heat of Paris agreement, we kept 1.5 degrees alive.”
He added, “Putin’s brutal and illegal war in Ukraine, has participated in multiple global crises, energy and food insecurity inflationary pressures and spiralling, debt and these crises have compounded existing climate vulnerabilities and the scarring effects of the pandemic”.
“The Secretary-General has been clear, our shared long-term futures do not lie on fossil fuels and I agree with him wholeheartedly,” added Alok Sharma.
For his part, the President of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, Sameh Shoukry assured that “The pledge to provide the environment, one billion dollars annually, has not yet found its way to be implemented.”
Shoukry added that “most of the available financing tends to reduce emissions at the expense of adaptation, as well as the reliance of most of the available financing on loans.”
Hoesung Lee, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said: “IPCC report presented to the world in February and April this year, clearly shows that we have the technology and the know-how to tackle climate change, but these options have limited by the availability of finance.”
Representatives from over 190 countries attend the talks, with discussions focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the transition to green energy and funding for climate action.
Heads of State, ministers and negotiators, as well as climate activists and representatives from civil society and business, will look to build on the pledges of past conferences and focus on achieving the legally binding targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
COP 27 continues until November 18.
