BE it in terms of concluding outputs or from the perspective of its durable effect on the modalities of action, the world climate summit (COP27) that Egypt hosted and chaired in Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this month has created a significant addition to the potentials of multilateral action regarding climate change – the one issue that countries the world over have come to recognise as a real existential threat to life on the Earth. In particular, the Sharm el-Sheikh plan has ushered in a new stage in international climate action characetrised by emphasis on turning commitments into tangible processes on the ground especially through the launch of a fund for dealing with climate change-caused loss and damage and promoting ways to keep Earth warming below the Paris Agreement ceiling of 1.5 degree Celsius. Such outcomes, as Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri, who is COP27 president, noted in a recorded statement to the G77 and China ministerial conference on climate change that convened in New York on the 15th of this month, reflected the potential of multilateral action to achieve tangible and balanced conclusions even against a background of such serious global challenges as the food and energy crises, geopolitical tensions and the post effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
In combination, all such outcomes establish a proof of the worthiness and efficacy of multilateral action as a means of building the unanimity and accord deemed necessary for the success of international diplomacy. Pointing to yet one more significant factor underlying efforts to create this potential, Minister Shoukri referred to the wide participation in the work of the Sharm el-Sheikh conference by more than 120 heads of state and government and more than 50,000 delegates and attendees – forming what Minister Shoukri valued as a message of political commitment by all parties to the fructification of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit and the sustainability of enhanced climate action.
A review of the proceedings, debates and activities of COP27 points to the contribution of the conference’s presidency to achieving the widest extent of the unanimity and accord required for invigorating international climate action for now as well as for the foreseeable future. At the level of the political orientation, there was noticeable keenness on ensuring that international climate action be pursued in a manner that is just and inclusive while minimising negative social or economic impacts that may arise from climate action, as so was clearly indicated in the conference’s presidency proposal. And in further affirmation of this orientation, the proposal stressed the importance of maintaining the thrust and prioritisation of multilateral climate action dissociated from the increasingly complex and challenging global geopolitical situation and its impact on the energy, food and economic situations as well as the additional challenges pertaining to the socioeconomic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Keenness to maintain the vigor, urgency and prioritisation of multilateral climate action as represented in the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan is indeed a worthy accomplishment of COP27 and a valuable asset for the entire spectrum of international action at all political, diplomatic and specialised levels.
Discussion about this post