The dealers in Sharm el-Sheikh arrived minutes before sunrise on Sunday morning. Two hours earlier, an agreement was reached to create a fund to ensure compensation for poor countries affected by climate change. In the final statement from the meeting, the almost 200 countries repeat an earlier decision to phase out coal. But the document mentions neither oil nor gas, despite demands from environmental activists. – Low ambitions – Keeping the negotiators awake for two days and letting the meeting go into overtime, just to adopt the absolute lowest starting point. The result is an insult to the planet and the vulnerable countries. We cannot afford another climate summit with such low ambitions, says Karoline Andaur, secretary general of the WWF World Wide Fund for Nature. UN Secretary-General António Guterres came out ahead of the summit and warned that the world is “heading full speed towards climate hell with the foot on the gas”. – It is positive that the need to deal with the consequences of climate change is recognised, but we are extremely disappointed that the countries of the world do not realize that the best way to do this is to stop using fossil energy. At COP27, we had to fight to keep the decision from last year. So we haven’t progressed since Glasgow, says Andaur. The Nature Conservancy is relieved The Nature Conservancy’s Truls Gulowsen thanks climate minister Eide for his efforts in Egypt. Photo: Greenpeace The Nature Conservancy writes in a press release on the night of Sunday that they are relieved that the parties are going home with a breakthrough in financing loss and damage as a result of climate change. – We would like to thank the Norwegian delegation with Espen Barth Eide at the head of the work to secure a historic agreement on loss and damage, and especially the efforts to improve the final declaration on fossil fuels, says Truls Gulowsen, leader of the Nature Conservancy. – Your proposal would have given countries a tougher obligation to phase out all fossil energy, not just coal, which means a lot from a large oil and gas country. It is good that the climate negotiations are finally talking seriously about fossil fuels, but unfortunately fossil cuts were not fully implemented, he continues. At the same time, Gulowsen emphasizes that Norway now “must roll up its sleeves and cut back at home”. Better than feared, worse than hoped, summarizes Frederic Hauge in Bellona. Photo: Bellona Frederic Hauge in Bellona says the result was better than feared, but worse than they hoped. – Bellona is very disappointed that there is no real progress on the formulations on emission cuts. Bellona is happy that the 1.5 degree target is being retained, after this was also put into play during the negotiations, but it really should just be missing, says Hauge. Disappointed by emission cuts The youth organizations Spire and Changemaker call the creation of the loss and damage fund a long-awaited victory: – There are clear political signals from COP27 that the needs to deal with loss and damage are enormous, and that the world will now to a greater extent make a combined and coordinated efforts to deal with climate destruction, says Naja Amanda Lynge Møretrø, manager of Changemaker. Naja Amanda Lynge Møretrø is leader of Changemaker Photo: Eivind Molde / news – We depend on all countries doing more to reach the 1.5 degree target, anything else will have huge consequences and result in more loss and damage. At the same time, it arouses mistrust among countries in the south that rich countries have neither delivered on promises to cut emissions nor climate finance, and at the same time are asking developing countries to do more. This shows how important it is for climate cooperation that everyone, and especially rich countries, actually make good on what they promise, says Thea Birgitte Erfjord from Spire. Save the Children is disappointed that it did not go further than last year in cutting emissions, but is also happy about the establishment of the loss and damage fund. – We have also seen important steps being taken to invite children into political processes on climate policy, promoted by Norway among others, and a formal recognition that it is their future that matters and that they are important change agents for climate. This comes at a high time, and is very welcome, says senior advisor climate and environmental policy Ida Morén Strømsø.
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