Over 90 heads of state expected to attend COP27

More than 90 heads of state and government will be attending this year’s climate change conference called COP27, Egypt’s COP27 Presidency has said.

The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP27, will be the 27th edition of the conference, holds from November 6 to 18, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

During a press briefing on the COP27 negotiations on Tuesday, Ambassador Mohamed Nasr speaking on behalf of Egypt’s COP27 Presidency said, “We hope that parties come here and focus on the climate agenda and make sure everyone is doing their share.”

He noted that success at COP27 among other indicators would mean delivering on mitigation “to ensure we keep 1.5 degrees limit within reach,” delivering on loss and damage and delivering on adaptation.

He said agreements should be made on providing finance for loss and damage, adding that Egypt’s COP27 Presidency was focused providing the atmosphere for that agreement to be reached.

Nasr said that the gap in financing was impacting the implementation of decisions made in Glasgow at COP26.

He expressed hope that economic challenges faced by countries will not make them back-track on pledges made.

The challenge is in “the political will after the COP” to deliver on commitments, he said.

He added that there were challenges in implementation.

“We need to work together not just for our children’s future but for our present realities. The media is needed to give governments a reality check so that backsliding on commitments will not occur. What has been pledged must be delivered,” Nasr concluded.

The  Egyptian COP27 Presidency has identified a range of topics focused on enhancing implementation and raising ambition on broad range of issues related to climate change.

In an earlier address, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt said, “The hosting of COP27 in the green city of Sharm El-Sheikh this year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“In the thirty years since, the world has come a long way in the fight against climate change and its negative impacts on our planet; we are now able to better understand the science behind climate change, better assess its impacts, and better develop tools to address its causes and consequences.

“Thirty years and 26 COPs later, we now have a much clearer understanding of the extent of the potential climate crisis and what needs to be done to address it effectively.”