Keeping 1.5°C alive
COP27 is being billed as a “technical COP”; so it’s no real surprise that some of the ‘climate celebrities’ like Greta Thunberg aren’t attending.
If COP26 last year was all about raising global ambitions, this years’ COP will be much more focused on the deliverables and details that underpin those ambitions – in a way that makes it even more relevant for companies who can bring about real solutions, like Rolls-Royce.
A big focus for this year will be on ‘keeping 1.5°C alive’. Last month, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published their most recent Emissions Gap report, concluding “international community is falling far short of the Paris goals, with no credible pathway to 1.5°C in place. Only an urgent system-wide transformation can avoid climate disaster”.
There is increasing scientific consensus that the impacts of a global temperature rise above 1.5°C will be significant and far-reaching, with events like flooding, fires, droughts, and heatwaves increasing in frequency, duration and severity. As a result there will be a lot of focus on adaptation and resilience – how can countries prepare for the impacts of climate change, and help others to do the same? This includes consideration of so-called “loss and damage funds”; how advanced economies, often cited as being most responsible for climate change due to their contributions to global emissions, can support and financially compensate developing economies, often recognised as those most vulnerable the impacts of climate change.
On this note, the geographical location of COP27 in Sharm el-Sheik cannot be ignored. Nicknamed the “African COP”, there will be a strong focus on opportunities for the region. Solutions that “leapfrog” the energy transition and enable truly sustainable development, creating green jobs, skills and offer practical solutions to the climate impacts already being felt will feature highly.
And of course, COP is an annual cycle, so all the action at Sharm over the coming weeks will set the scene for COP28 in Dubai in 2023.