What is COP27?
- COP27 is the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference aka the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, the 27th COP conference since 1994
- The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a treaty through which signing nations agreed to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to prevent dangerous interference from human activity on the climate system”
- 197 parties have signed the UNFCCC
- This year’s conference is being held from November 6th – November 18th in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
- There are around 35,000 delegates
- COP26 marked 5 years since the Paris Agreement was signed, where signatories agreed to keep the goal of curbing global average temperature rise to 1.5C
THE BAD:
- Many reports indicate that the world is not on track to meet a 2C rise in average global temperatures, let alone a 1.5C target as agreed upon in Paris
- Canadian PM Trudeau is not in attendance at COP27
- Only 7 of 110 world leaders at COP27 are women
- COP27 accused of greenwashing: due to sponsorships from giant plastic polluters like Coca Cola
- A few days before the conference, COP27 announced closure of the first day of pavilion event space activities, where conversations between environmental NGOs and world leaders tend to happen
- Egypt, this year’s host nation, has reputation for human rights violations, including imprisonment of Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah who is currently on a water strike
- There are more fossil fuel lobbying delegates at COP27 than any year in the past
- Only 23 out of 193 countries submitted their plans for achieving their Paris Agreement targets
The GOOD:
- Tuvalu joined Vanuatu to become the 2nd nation to call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
- There is representation from many local, national and international organizations environmental groups at COP27, including our friends at BCCIC Climate, Threading Change, and Stand.earth
- Loss and damage, a climate justice approach to holding wealthy and carbon emitting nations accountable for addressing and paying for the impacts of climate change that are being experienced by nations who contribute little overall to climate change, is on the agenda at COP27 for the first time
- COP27 is taking place in Africa, bringing attention to developing nations (and hopefully attention to unjust fossil fuel development in Africa at the hands of foreign companies)
- Nations will be talking about what kind of agreements and deals will be needed to implement the “rulebook” for the Paris Agreement
What you can do:
- Stay up to date on reports and decisions that come out of COP27 by checking the UN website: https://unfccc.int/
event/cop-27?item=1 - Sign this Stand.Earth petition to kick big polluters out of climate talks: https://us.
engagingnetworks.app/page/ email/click/10046/1494341? email=8C8JXR1X% 2FxeVgkQ1Ha4QSuTu%2BXSAI6a6g0% 2BNtx6TmEc=&campid= a5j8XwXSArCZkArzVWMSmA== - Call and email PM Trudeau and Environmental Minister Guilbeault telling them to pass a #windfallprofitstax and #taxbigoil, and to make serious commitments to biodiversity at the upcoming World Biodiversity Summit in Montreal
- Continue to put pressure on world leaders to demand the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah
- Continue to support the work that environmental organizations at COP27 are doing, particularly groups bringing representation to COP of women, youth, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other groups who will be the most impacted by climate change (follow and donate to @bccic.climate, @threadingchange, @ourkidsclimate, @davidsuzukifoundation, @stand.earth, @indigenousclimateaction and many more)