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From Monday, world leaders flock to the COP27 Climate Conference in Egypt as they come under heavy pressure to reinforce their climate pledges in the face of rising warming and to provide financial support to the poor countries most affected by climate change.

About 110 heads of state and government will make interventions Monday and Tuesday before delegates meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh in the framework of COP27.

These interventions come against the backdrop of multiple interrelated crises shaking the world, namely the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hyperinflation, the risk of recession, the energy crisis with renewed support for fossil energy sources, and the food crisis, while the world population will exceed eight billion people.

This "multi-sided crisis" may push the climate change crisis to the second place in the list of priorities, even though its devastating repercussions were most evident in 2022, with deadly floods, heat waves and drought that wreaked havoc on crops.

“All crises are important, but none have major repercussions,” UN climate chief Simon Steele said at the official opening of COP27 on Monday.

Yet countries are still accused of failing to do what they should do to combat global warming.

Greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 to have a chance of achieving the most ambitious goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, which is to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.

But the current pledges of the signatories, even if ultimately respected, would lead to a 5-10% rise in emissions, putting the world on a 2.4°C upward trajectory at best by the end of the century.

However, with the current policies, the warming is expected to reach 2.8 degrees Celsius, which is disastrous, according to the United Nations.

In an indication of the "regression" that many fear, only 29 countries have submitted to COP 2021 plans to increase their pledges to reduce emissions, although they have approved a "charter" calling on them to do so.

Possible announcements of further emissions cuts will be highly anticipated in Sharm el-Sheikh.

The world is also awaiting with interest the announcements related to aid to poor countries, which are usually the countries most vulnerable to the consequences of climate warming, even if their responsibility is limited as they emit very few greenhouse gases.

In a gesture that many activists hope will not be only symbolic, delegates to COP27 decided on Sunday for the first time to include the issue of financing the damage caused by global warming on the official agenda of the conference.

These damages are estimated at tens of billions now, and are expected to continue to rise significantly. The recent floods that inundated a third of Pakistan alone caused damage estimated at more than 30 billion.

In the face of these repercussions, weak countries demand a special financing mechanism, but the rich countries have reservations about this, as they fear that they will take responsibility officially and say that the climate financing system is complex enough in its current state.

The conference takes place in the absence of two main parties. Chinese President Xi Jinping is absent from COP27, while his US counterpart, Joe Biden, who is preoccupied with Tuesday's midterm elections, will pass by Sharm el-Sheikh on November 11th.

However, cooperation is vital between the two countries that emit the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions and whose relations are very strained. But Xi and Biden may meet in Bali the following week, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

On the other hand, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the great supporter of oil production, will attend.

Also comes the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who confirmed that he will address in Egypt the issue of the Egyptian detainee, who holds British citizenship, Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has been on hunger strike for seven months, and who stopped drinking water on Sunday, according to his family.
Source: AFP