Are rich and poor countries divided on on COP27 outcomes?
First, what are COPs or "Conference of the Parties"? - The COPs are annual conferences to deal with climate change issues - The first COP was held in 1992, when the UN organised the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted, and - In the past 30 years, 197 countries have signed the UNFCCC - In the UNFCCC, all countries agreed to "Stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to prevent dangerous interference from human activity on the climate system".
The Convention has been added to- with the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 putting limits on emissions, and Paris Agreement in 2015, where all countries sought to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius and try to bring it to 1.5 degrees.
COP26 in Glasgow was famous for the various commitments given on countries to cut their carbon emissions to a net zero- And PM Modi gave the date of 2070 for India So what were the big outcomes from COP27 in Egypt? 1.
The biggest takeaway was a last minute agreement to set up a Loss and Damage fund- to help countries that are victims of climate disasters, particularly Small Island States and members of the Climate Vulnerable Forum.
Remember a previous commitment from 2009 for countries to donate $100 bn a year.
Another outcome, is the deep divide between the developed world and the developing countries that appeared to spend a large part of the conference cutting out each other's proposals and texts How did countries react? Obviously, the most satisfied countries were those that pushed for the loss and damage fund- Bangladesh for example- 20 of the past 23 cyclonic systems in the past decade have built in the Bay of Bengal, and PM Sheikh Hasina who helped found the 58-member Climate Vulnerable Forum gave it a big push.
As a developing country with global ambitions- India's role in COP negotiations is significant in raising the voice of the global south 2.
In particular, global demands for India and other developing countries to cut their coal consumption is likely to grow.