聽People pass in front of a wall lit with the sign of COP27 as the COP27 climate summit takes place, at the Green Zone in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 10, 2022. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt 鈥� The U.N. climate agency published a first draft on Thursday of a hoped-for final agreement from the COP27 climate summit, repeating many of last year鈥檚 goals while leaving contentious issues still to be resolved.
The 20-page document is labelled a 鈥渘on-paper鈥�, indicating it is far from a final version and there are still hours if not days left in the negotiations between delegates from nearly 200 countries.
The draft repeats the goal from last year鈥檚 Glasgow Climate Pact 鈥渢o accelerate measures towards the phase down of unabated coal power and phase out and rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.鈥�
It does not call for a phase down of all fossil fuels, as India and the European Union had requested.
Delegates have worried that the key sticking point around launching a 鈥渓oss and damage鈥� fund for financing for countries being ravaged by climate impacts would stymie agreement at the COP27 summit in Egypt.
The text does not include details for launching such a fund 鈥� a key demand from the most climate vulnerable countries, such as island nations. Rather, it 鈥渨elcomes鈥� the fact that the topic was taken up as part of this year鈥檚 official agenda.
鈥楿苍诲别谤飞丑别濒尘别诲鈥�
One negotiator from an island nation who asked not to be named said he was underwhelmed by the draft text and its 鈥渟ilence on the critical issue of loss and damage鈥�.
It gives no timeline for deciding on whether a separate fund should be created or what it should look like, giving time for negotiators to continue to work on the contentious topic.
On limiting the global temperature rise, the document mirrors language included in last year鈥檚 COP26 agreement, stressing 鈥渢he importance of exerting all efforts at all levels to achieve the Paris Agreement temperature goal of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2掳C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5掳C above pre-industrial levels.鈥�
Other unresolved issues include calls for boosting a global goal for finance to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of a warmer world, and plans for ratcheting up targets for cutting climate-warming emissions.
At the Glasgow COP26, countries agreed to develop a plan to 鈥渦rgently scale up鈥� emission-reduction efforts in recognition that the world would need to slash emissions 45% by 2030 to keep warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), the threshold beyond which scientists say climate change risks spinning out of control.
Temperatures have already increased by 1.1C.
Climate policy experts said there was deep concern about the talks reaching consensus on many key issues.
鈥淚 think the problem is that there鈥檚 a lot in here, and lots of it will be shot down by parties on all sides鈥�, said Tom Evans, a climate policy analyst at the E3G nonprofit think-tank.
The document is based on requests that delegates from nearly 200 countries have sought to be included in the final deal. It will provide a basis for negotiations over the coming days that are likely to substantially flesh out and rework the text.
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