COP27 Implemenation Plan Summary

Overview

The implementation plan includes sections on (i) science and urgency, (ii) enhancing ambition and implementation,(iii)  energy, (iv) mitigation, (v) adaptation, (vi) loss and damage, (vii) early warning and systematic observation, (viii) implementation - pathways to just transition, (ix) finance, (x) technology transfer and deployment, (xi) capacity-building, (xii) taking stock, (xiii) ocean, (xiv) forest, (xv) agriculture, and (xvi) enhancing implementation: action by non-party stakeholders.

We have focussed on five of these sections (see below)

Agreement about a Loss and Damage Fund

•  This is probably the biggest achievement of COP27 and has been called for by vulnerable countries since the 1990s. There has been an agreement to establish a global fund for Loss and Damage, which will provide financial assistance to developing nations impacted by climate disaster.

• To understand Loss and Damage better check out articles on the LSE and edie websites and watch the Guardian's compilation Cop 27: the climate carnage we've faced this year, which you can find below.

• Still to agree: A committee will meet in March 2023 to decide e.g. who will pay into the fund, how much they will pay, whether countries such as China and India should be contributors or recipients. Recommendations from the committee on funding will be taken to COP28 next year.

• The institutional structure of the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage was agreed. The network was established at COP25 and mandated to act as a catalyst for technical assistance from relevant bodies to vulnerable countries.

Mitigation

• Technically the target to limit temperature rises to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels still alive but considered by some to be politically dead. To achieve it, global carbon emissions must be almost halved by 2030, but carbon emissions from fossil fuels are expected to hit a record high this year. "If current emissions levels persist, there is now a 50% chance that global warming of 1.5°C will be exceeded in nine years" (Global Carbon Project). 

• Of concern: Some of the language used in the final text, e.g. phasedown and inefficient used in the context of fossil fuels creates potential loopholes for new fossil fuel development, and transitioning to low-emissions energy systems rather than clean or renewable systems leaves the door open for continued exploitation of gas.

Adaptation

• There is very little on adaptation in the implementation plan, which was a surprise to some given their high priority at COP26. Parties are called upon to accelerate the changes needed to transition towards low-emission energy systems and are invited to consider further actioned to reduce non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions, including methane.

• The existing gap between current levels of adaptation and the levels needed are noted with serious concern and developed countries are urged to support developing countries by scaling up their provision of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building for adaptation.

Climate finance

• The implementation plan highlights that about USD 4 trillion per year needs to be invested in renewable energy up until 2030 to be able to reach net zero emissions by 2050, and that, a global transformation to a low-carbon economy is expected to require investment of at least USD 4–6 trillion per year. 

• Such funding will require a transformation of the financial system, and shareholders of multilateral development banks and international financial institutions are called on to carry out this reform.

• There is a growing gap between the needs of developing countries and the support provided, with increasing impacts of climate change and increased indebtedness highlighted. Concern is expressed about the inability of developed countries to meet the pledge of USD 100 billion per year by 2020, and countries are urged to meet this goal, although it's made clear that global climate finance flows are small relative to the overall needs of developing countries. Developed countries are urged to provide enhanced support to assist developing countries with mitigation and adaptation via financial resources, technology transfer and capacity building.

Early warning system

• An action plan for the Early Warning for All initiative was launched at COP27, which when operational will be able to give early warnings against increasingly extreme and dangerous weather to everyone on the planet. The implementation plan invites development partners and international financial institutions amongst others to provide support for its implementation.