100 and 0

100 Days to COP 27

0 Days to Begin Action

30th July 2022 marks 100 days to go for the UN global conference of COP27 to be held in Egypt. Are we really going to make any progress in that COP (Conference of Parties) in November 2022?

A window of opportunity is cracked open for the humanity that is dangerously balancing on the cliff. To be positive, the window is now open more than before mainly because of the enhanced awareness at all levels, from world leaders to the young generation, of the society that is coming out of terrorizing pandemic.

To a certain extent, the pandemic has pushed the world to care for the environment. But sadly we do not see the national and global actions in the proportion that is needed to address the climate crisis. There is a colossal and suicidal gap between what is needed and what is being done. Indeed we have no time to lose. Zero.

Next, less than 100 days will see intense debate on key issues arising out of COP 26. There are serious concerns about the outcome of COP26 in Glasgow that must be addressed if COP 27 is to succeed.

The focus of climate negotiations should now be on three major issues first, implementation, second, implementation and third, implementation! However, COP 27 is likely to still engage in procedural matters rather than concrete actions, noting the preparatory meetings held in Bonn in 2022.

COP 27 is, in reality, taking place in Arabic-speaking country but in African continent. So, it is "African COP". That may be a good opportunity to settle major issues concerning African and Middle East nations, including loss and damage, adaptation and access to climate finance.

Ensuring the promises of the flow of increased funding for developing and poor countries that are facing disastrous impacts of climate change disproportionate to their contribution to global warming. The long-standing promise for the funding remains grossly unfulfilled. That puts the developing countries almost 'at sea' in their efforts to reduce their present and future emissions and more importantly adapt to and recover from its impacts.

Walking the talk and performing on the promises, particularly on NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) by the developed countries is absolutely essential. The studies have shown that present NDCs submitted to UNFCCC are clearly inadequate to reach the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Enhancing the NDCs is a crying need.

Need for compensating the countries experiencing loss and damage caused by climate change impacts can no longer be overlooked. However, sadly, a shared definition of loss and damage is not yet finalised.

There were a number of sectoral declarations and deals made in COP26 like promises of financing Loss and Damage by Scotland and Belgium, and the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use. These deals sit outside of the formal negotiation processes and similar agreements have all too often stalled. Urgent tracking and monitoring of such deals and declaration will be the key to turning promises into plans and then to implementation. A clear signal that sectoral deals and pledges truly have substance, and not the greenwash, would need open access to data and disclosure.

Building the trust and consensus generated in Glasgow among the stakeholders from North and South to deliver with integrity is the sine qua non for the success of COP 27.

Glasgow Climate Pact (GCP) was a major outcome of COP 26. The pact is described as the "urgent need" for more ambitious emissions cuts in this "critical decade", in order to avoid dangerous warming of more than 1.5C.

GCP seems to be unsettling as the WMO (World Meteorological Organisation) declared that the world is already 'measurably closer' to the warming of 1.5 deg C.

It is therefore a perfect obvious corollary that adapting to climate impacts is the key component of GGA (Global Goal on Adaptation). Adaptation has long been a priority for developing countries, particularly in Africa facing the worst impacts of climate change. Sadly those nations are the least equipped to deal with them.

What Universities can do, from literally today is to make their campus carbon neutral and set an example to the world leaders and businesses who are either busy with declarations, speeches and promises. They can even achieve carbon neutrality in campus by COP 27, or by end of 2022. (see Campus Guidelines for Carbon Neutrality of the project Smart Campus Cloud Network, sccnhub.com) UNFCCC secretariat is mandated to do Global Stock-taking in 2023. It is important to know that nations monitor NDCs to assess if they are on course to hit the Paris Agreement goals. The next round of enhancing NDCs is stipulated by UNFCCC in 2025. Universities can get engaged in Global stock-taking in their own countries. Smart Campus Cloud Network (sccnhub.com) is engaged in spreading these ideas as we approach COP 27.

 Dr Rajendra Shende, 

Chairman - TERRE Policy Centre,

Former Director UNEP, IIT Alumni,

Prime Mover Smart Campus Cloud Network 

Coordinating lead author of IPCC.