Draft COP27 Agreement Missing 'Loss and Damage'... "Opening the Road to Climate Hell"

'Loss and Damage' Fund Detailed Plan Missing... Emphasizing Meaning in the 'First Official Agenda'

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] It has been confirmed that the draft agreement of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27), currently underway in Egypt, lacks detailed plans for the 'loss and damage' fund, which was a key agenda item.

On the 17th, one day before the closing of COP27, major foreign media reported that the UN released a draft statement repeating the goals of last year's COP26 without resolving the ongoing contentious issues. Although the final agreement may change, it appears that no concrete plan will be established regarding the loss and damage fund, which developing and emerging countries claimed was a crucial agenda determining the success of COP27. Advanced countries such as the United States and the European Union (EU), which are expected to bear the costs, reportedly showed reluctance to fund the initiative.

The statement only included that it was significant that the loss and damage fund was discussed as a core agenda item for the first time at COP27.

The statement also contained commitments to continue efforts to limit the global temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to phase out coal power generation.

However, all these points were already included in the COP26 agreement held last year in Glasgow, UK. The British daily The Guardian reported that demands to include all fossil fuels such as oil and gas in the phase-out were not accepted.

Jep Sanoh, director of Greenpeace, criticized in a statement, "As the impacts of climate change grow, lives, livelihoods, cultures, and even entire countries are disappearing, yet the COP27 draft agreement is like pressing the pedal on the highway to climate hell."

Representatives of countries severely affected by climate change expressed disappointment over the lack of a concrete implementation plan for the loss and damage fund.

Malwin Joseph, Minister of Environment of the Caribbean island nation Antigua and Barbuda, lamented, "If the outcome of this conference falls short of establishing the loss and damage fund, it would be a betrayal of those who have worked to create this environment."

Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Climate Change of the South Pacific island nation Vanuatu, said, "If there is no decision on loss and damage, the option of walking out of COP27 was discussed by the G77, a group of 77 developing countries," adding, "We want the fund to be announced here."

Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission coordinating EU climate policy, said, "The EU tried to discuss creating a new fund, but first wants to explore ways to address loss and damage by reforming existing financial institutions." He added, "A single fund could be the outcome of the discussions, but no conclusion has been finalized yet."

Vice-President Timmermans said, "There is still a lot of work to do with the draft wording. The draft cannot be called a consensus that everyone agrees on," and added, "Therefore, we will continue discussions and hope to find common ground before the conference ends."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.