COP27 Decisions

With over 100 leaders and over 35,000 participants, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCC, or COP27, took place in Egypt from November 6-20, 2022.

• The United Nations Secretary-General said, "If climate change is going to flood an island nation or leave the African continent in the grip of drought, COP27 was not the answer. We have much homework and little time," he said.

• "I think it's fair to say that we had another conference with a lot of protracted discussions, but no decisions with sanctions."

• Some applauded the decision to create a loss and damage fund. Many others said that COP27 was unsatisfactory.

• While there was a lot of talk at the conference about what to do against the effects of the climate, there was not much talk about what needs to be done to eliminate the causes of the climate crisis.

• It was emphasized that not much progress has been made since last year's COP26. It was emphasized that with the current policies, a 2.8°C temperature increase by the end of the century is inevitable, and this will have catastrophic consequences. Leaders were warned to make more effort.

• The Russia-Ukraine war was much discussed. It was stated that the war should be a reason to accelerate the climate crisis, not slow it down. But no one asked why new investments in fossil fuel production have been made in Europe, North America, Africa, and Australia since the war began.