Update: The COP gaveled to a close at 9:19 am. It adopted decisions on loss and damage finance, the mitigation work programme, the Global Goal on Adaptation, and the overarching cover decisions, among others.
Update: The COP adopted a decision establishing a loss and damage fund. It then suspended for 30 minutes to allow delegates to read the overarching cover decisions.
Update: Plenary started at 4:00 a.m.
Update: Plenary scheduled to start at 3:00 a.m.
On the thirteenth day of the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Change Conference, negotiations continued to be extremely difficult. For a time, there was optimism, starting when negotiators forwarded clean decisions across the three sub-items of Article 6 (cooperative implementation) for adoption. As decision documents and Presidency proposals started to pop up on the UNFCCC website, delegates began to talk of a potential package deal already wrapped with a bow.
As day turned into night, problems emerged. The High Ambition Coalition held a press conference urging strong outcomes across the mitigation work programme, Global Goal on Adaptation, and loss and damage finance. They stressed that one cannot be agreed without the others—only deciding to establish a loss and damage response fund at this COP would, they said, “be accepting catastrophe” without doing anything about the causes of the problem.
Heads of Delegation met for two hours in the evening to share their views on the overarching cover decisions and other outstanding major decisions. Delegates reported that parties still seemed comfortable with re-inserting text or calling for major deletions that would cross other parties’ red lines. Another delegate reported that many concerns were being raised about the process, particularly issuing negotiating texts as draft decisions that may not reflect the agreements that parties had reached.
With optimism fading, many were worried about what Sunday may bring and in particular how gaps on the still-lengthy cover decisions might be bridged in time.
Closing Plenary
COP 27 President Sameh Shoukry
Tomas Anker Christensen, Denmark
Franz Perrez, Switzerland
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell
From L-R: COP 27 President Sameh Shoukry; Wael Aboulmagd, Special Representative of the COP 27 President; and Annett Moehner, UNFCCC Secretariat
Contact Groups and Informal Consultations
Wael Keshk, Egypt (center)
Kuki Soejachmoen, Indonesia
Kate Hancock, Australia
Family photo of the Article 6 negotiators
Maria Al-Jishi, Saudi Arabia
Peer Stiansen, Norway
COP 27 President Sameh Shoukry
Camila Isabel Zepeda Lizama, Mexico
View of the room during a contact group on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement
Selected Images
Akihiro Nishimura, Minister of the Environment, Japan
Dan Jannik Jørgensen, Minister of Climate and Energy and Public Utilities, Denmark
Jennifer Lee Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, Germany
Diego Pacheco, Bolivia
Climate Action Network Press Conference
From L-R: Li Shuo, Greenpeace East Asia; Eddy Perez, Climate Action Network (CAN) Canada; and Mohamed Adow, Power Shift Africa
Harjeet Singh, CAN International
Mohamed Adow, Power Shift Africa
Tasneem Essop, Executive Director, CAN
Eddy Perez, CAN Canada
Rachel Cleetus, Union of Concerned Scientists
Climate Actions
Around the Venue
The Earth Negotiations Bulletin Second Week Team
From L-R: Chris Spence (Ireland); Joyce Tan (the Philippines); Jen Allan (UK/Canada); Elaine Limjoco (the Philippines); Mike Muzurakis (Greece); and Mari Luomi (Finland) (virtual)