Furthermore, the macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop has changed dramatically in the last 12 months, with inflation running at its highest level in a generation and the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Although higher oil and gas prices should discourage consumption and benefit alternative sources of energy, the associated higher cost of living for households, has meant a greater focus on near-term matters at the potential expense of longer-term ones, such as climate change.
International cooperation is essential for effectively tackling climate change and the last year has seen an increase in geopolitical tensions and revealed greater divides between some of the world’s leading powers, as was demonstrated by the global response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, there has been some positive developments in this regard in recent weeks with the meeting of US president Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali seen as a constructive step.
Not enough
Like its predecessor, the outcome of COP27 was seen by some key participants as not going far enough in tackling the issues at hand. In a sign of the fraught tension pervading discussions, negotiations over-ran their Friday deadline and took until Sunday morning to complete. That said, the agreement from almost 200 countries to create a fund to cover the “loss and damage” caused by climate change on vulnerable nations was widely cited as a ground-breaking deal. It may have taken 30 years since the creation of the treaty for international cooperation on climate change which underpins the COP meetings, but finally it appears that rich countries are starting to realise their responsibilities to offer financial support to poorer ones, in order to repair damage caused by a warming world.
As a further example of how individual COP outcomes should be placed in the wider context, the first indications of a willingness to support those worse off and more exposed to climate change were seen in Glasgow last year. Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon promised to commit £2m to the cause, a seemingly insignificant sum given the associated costs earmarked to cover – Pakistan’s damage and financial loss from a heavier than usual monsoon earlier this year has been estimated in excess of £30bn. Nonetheless, the commitment appears to have set the wheels in motion and led the breakthrough in Egypt. Sturgeon pledged an additional £5m at COP27.
As welcome as this significant step forward was, any sense of jubilation was kept firmly in check by the inability of negotiators to reach a deal on larger reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and ending the use of fossil fuels. Staunch resistance from countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia proved to be an insurmountable stumbling block. “We should have done much more. Our citizens expect us to lead,” said Frans Timmermans, European Union (EU) climate chief who called the outcome “not enough of a step forward for people and the planet.”
