<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421437" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Climate negotiators on Friday were mulling a European Union proposal aimed at resolving an impasse over financing for countries hit by climate-fuelled disasters and pushing the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.N. climate summit</a>&nbsp;in Egypt closer to a final deal.



The EU proposal agreed to set up a special fund for covering loss and damage in the most vulnerable countries &#8211; but funded from a &#8220;broad donor base&#8221;.



That suggests high-emitting emerging economies like China would have to contribute, rather than having the fund financed only by rich nations that have historically contributed the most to global warming.



&#8220;What we would propose is to establish a loss and damage response fund for the most vulnerable countries,&#8221; EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans told the COP27 summit.



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3202C4&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">loss and damage</a>&nbsp;issue has dominated this year&#8217;s summit, with more than 130 developing countries demanding that the meeting deliver a deal on a new fund to help them cope with the irreparable damage of floods, drought and other climate impacts.



The United States and European Union had previously resisted the idea, fearing it could open the door to spiralling liabilities for countries whose historical emissions fuelled climate change.



The climate minister for the Maldives, which faces inundation from climate-driven sea-level rise, said the new EU offer had buoyed hopes among climate-vulnerable nations for a deal.



&#8220;On loss and damage, we welcome the interventions and openness and the will to forge an agreement,&#8221; Shauna Aminath said. &#8220;We&#8217;re very close to an agreement, and let&#8217;s engage with one another and make this happen.&#8221;



The EU attached conditions to its offer &#8211; including that countries agree to step up their ambition to cut planet-warming emissions. The 27-country EU has among the most ambitious climate targets of major greenhouse gas emitters, and has urged China to upgrade its own.



Asked by Reuters about the EU proposal, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said developed countries should fulfil their obligation to provide finance to developing countries, and all countries should translate their climate targets into &#8220;concrete actions&#8221;.



&#8220;The Chinese side hopes that COP27 will focus on the full and accurate implementation of the principles and objectives of the Paris Agreement,&#8221; Mao said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-empty-bank-account">&#8216;EMPTY BANK ACCOUNT&#8217;</h2>



The United States has not responded publicly to the new proposal.



&#8220;The U.S. seems cornered,&#8221; one observer in the negotiations said.



The EU said countries must agree to phase down all fossil fuels, and phase down unabated coal-fuelled power generation as soon as possible &#8211; with countries submitting progress reports to make sure this gets done.



A senior Egyptian official said the conditions the EU attached would not be accepted by some countries, without specifying which.



&#8220;It seems there is a broad agreement on having a fund or facility,&#8221; the official said. &#8220;The different views are the sequencing and the timing.&#8221;



The Alliance of Small Island States and the G77 club of 134 developing countries, who have both pushed for a new fund, were consulting on their response.



Pakistan&#8217;s Ambassador to South Korea Nabeel Munir said Timmermans&#8217; proposal was &#8220;positive news&#8221; but some divisions remained.



&#8220;For us, the success of COP27 depends on what we get on loss and damage.&#8221;



Deals at U.N. climate talks must be made with support from all of the nearly 200 countries involved.



The EU offer is at odds with a proposal by developing countries and China that had said all developing countries should have access to the fund. That proposal used a U.N. definition that would have allowed China to receive, not contribute, money.



The U.N. climate agency published a draft proposal for a loss and damage deal late on Thursday. While published before the EU made its proposal, the text laid out three options for a possible deal.



The first suggests establishing a new fund for climate-vulnerable countries. The second, delaying the decision on a fund until next year&#8217;s COP28 summit. The third calls for deciding on funding arrangements at COP28, with no mention of a new fund.



Henry Kokofu, Special Envoy representing the Climate Vulnerable Forum of 58 countries, said the group supported the first option for setting up a fund &#8211; which appeared to align most closely with what the EU had proposed &#8211; but wanted a firm commitment that countries would add money to it.



&#8220;Without an actual commitment to funding, we may well just end up with an empty bank account,&#8221; Kokofu said.



(Reporting by Kate Abnett, William James, Aidan Lewis; additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Katy Daigle and Janet Lawrence)

TP5R6HBNPZIGTOANNA35PFUUUM

EU agrees to climate damage fund, energizing bogged-down COP27 talks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GI4GG6N2K5LCZJXURM2MYUGME4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421427" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GI4GG6N2K5LCZJXURM2MYUGME4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GI4GG6N2K5LCZJXURM2MYUGME4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GI4GG6N2K5LCZJXURM2MYUGME4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GI4GG6N2K5LCZJXURM2MYUGME4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GI4GG6N2K5LCZJXURM2MYUGME4.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A general view of the entrance to the Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Centre grounds, during the COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 15, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United Nations climate agency on Friday published a draft negotiating text of the deal that delegates at the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh are hoping to agree in the coming days.



The text, which builds on earlier, less formal iterations, did not set out the proposed solution to one of the most contentious issues at the summit, the &#8216;loss and damage&#8217; financial arrangements to provide funding to developing countries suffering catastrophic climate events.



Instead it contained placeholder text,&nbsp;indicating delegates were still seeking consensus on the matter.



The issue made it onto the formal summit agenda for the first time in what was seen as a breakthrough on a subject that has long divided developed and developing nations. Since then however, talks on what to do next have made little progress.



Late on Thursday, the European Union made a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N32D3X8&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proposal</a>&nbsp;aimed at resolving the impasse.



The overarching deal text, time-stamped at 03:30 AM reflecting the intensity of the final negotiations, reaffirmed key points in last year&#8217;s COP26 deal in Glasgow and the Paris 2015 agreement on limiting the rise in global temperatures.



The text said the conference: &#8220;Reaffirms the Paris Agreement temperature goal of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.&#8221;



(Reporting by William James; Editing by Dominic Evans)

GI4GG6N2K5LCZJXURM2MYUGME4

COP27 draft deal published, no proposal yet on ‘loss and damage’ funding

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/WE3XVUYKOFMB3ITG2U3H3KFIEE-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421399" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/WE3XVUYKOFMB3ITG2U3H3KFIEE-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/WE3XVUYKOFMB3ITG2U3H3KFIEE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/WE3XVUYKOFMB3ITG2U3H3KFIEE-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/WE3XVUYKOFMB3ITG2U3H3KFIEE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/WE3XVUYKOFMB3ITG2U3H3KFIEE.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Climate activists take part in a protest during the COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 17, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The first draft of a deal being hashed out at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/cop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">COP27 climate summit</a>&nbsp;in Egypt would keep a target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, but leaves many of the most contentious issues in the talks unresolved ahead of a Friday deadline.



Egypt&#8217;s COP27 president urged negotiators to overcome their differences, while poor nations slammed the draft as unambitious for not address their need for money to cope with damage already being wrought by climate-driven storms, droughts and floods.



&#8220;Time is not on our side, let us come together now and deliver by Friday,&#8221; COP27 President Sameh Shoukry said in a letter to delegates published on Thursday.



The 20-page draft for a hoped-for final agreement repeats the goal from last year&#8217;s Glasgow Climate Pact to limit warming to 1.5C, and &#8220;welcomes&#8221; the fact that delegates had for the first time begun discussions on launching a so-called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3202C4&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">loss and damage</a>&nbsp;fund for countries being ravaged by climate impacts.



U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry said last week that a few of the nearly 200 countries gathered for the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh had been resisting language around 1.5C,&nbsp;the level of warming beyond which scientists say climate change impacts dangerously spiral. Kerry declined to name the countries.



Kerry held a closed-door meeting Thursday with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua at the summit, but did not say what they discussed. &#8220;We&#8217;re making progress. Let&#8217;s let the talks continue,&#8221; he said as he left the meeting.



Xie has said China was not opposed to including the 1.5C target.



China and the United States, the world&#8217;s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, agreed&nbsp;earlier this&nbsp;week to resume their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32A5BF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate cooperation</a>, after a hiatus caused by diplomatic tensions over Taiwan.



Highlighting frustrations over the talks so far, a delegation from Britain, the European Union and Canada met COP27 president&nbsp;Shoukry on Thursday to draw attention to&nbsp;gaps in the current negotiating texts and to express their view that the talks should not be allowed to fail.



&#8220;There&#8217;s still a lot of gaps in the texts,&#8221; said a spokesperson for Britain&#8217;s COP26 Presidency, which hosted last year&#8217;s climate summit in Glasgow. &#8220;They need to build on what has gone before.&#8221;



WHERE&#8217;S THE MONEY?



Climate-vulnerable countries including small island nations pointed out that, while the draft deal mentions loss and damage, it does not include details for launching a fund &#8211; a key demand in the talks that delegates&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3290E6&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">have worried</a>&nbsp;could stymie a final agreement.



Wealthy countries for years have resisted a loss and damage fund over fear that it could open them up to endless financial liability for their historical contribution to climate change.



&#8220;Anything less than establishing a loss and damage fund at this COP is a betrayal of the people who are working so hard to clean up this environment, and the people fighting for humanity,&#8221; said Molwyn Joseph, Antigua and Barbuda&#8217;s environment minister.



The draft also repeats the Glasgow deal&#8217;s request for countries to accelerate measures towards the phase down of unabated coal power, despite a proposal from India and the European Union to expand that to all fossil fuels.



It urges countries to &#8220;phase out and rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies&#8221; &#8211; a slight tweak from the Glasgow deal which did not include the word &#8220;rationalize&#8221;.



&#8220;Instead of a reference to phasing out all fossil fuels, we have an even weaker version of the language around coal and fossil fuel subsidies than we got last year,&#8221; said Catherine Abreu of the E3G non-profit think tank.



EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said the first draft left a lot to be desired.



&#8220;The cover text still needs a tremendous amount of work,&#8221; he told Reuters. &#8220;So, we will continue the discussions and will give our input and hope that we can find this common ground before the end of the COP.&#8221;



TEMPERATURE TARGET



On limiting the global temperature rise, the document mirrors language included in last year&#8217;s COP26 agreement.



It stresses&nbsp;&#8220;the importance of exerting all efforts at all levels to achieve the Paris Agreement temperature goal of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.&#8221;



Temperatures have already increased by 1.1C, and are projected to blow past 1.5C without swift and deep cuts to emissions within this decade.



Other unresolved issues include calls for boosting a global goal for finance to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of a warmer world, and plans for ratcheting up targets for cutting climate-warming emissions.



&#8220;I think the problem is that&nbsp;there&#8217;s&nbsp;a lot in here, and lots of it will be shot down by parties on all sides&#8221;, said Tom Evans, a climate policy analyst at E3G.



For daily comprehensive coverage on COP27 in your inbox, sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/newsletters/reuters-sustainable-switch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>



FACTBOX-COP27: Counting the rising cost of climate disasters<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3290E6&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Children from Global South make their presence felt at climate summit<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32C2LL&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Key takeaways from the G20 summit in Bali<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N32C256&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



COP27 climate talks seen as key to success at next month&#8217;s U.N. nature summit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32B2XF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



INSIGHT-Egypt&#8217;s Nile Delta farmland salts up as temperatures, and seas, rise<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N31X7GN&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



INSIGHT-Bankers bet billions on new wave of debt-for-nature deals<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N31G064&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



COP27 page on Eikon&nbsp;<a href="https://amers2.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=820392360" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://amers2.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=820392360</a>



Greeted like a rock star, Brazil&#8217;s Lula promises to protect Amazon<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32C0UF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Fossil carbon dioxide emissions<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3UlWfVD" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://tmsnrt.rs/3UlWfVD</a>



(Additional reporting from Dominic Evans, Valerie Volcovici, Kate Abnett, Gloria Dickie, and Simon Jessop; Writing by Richard Valdmanis)

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COP27 draft climate deal retains 1.5C limit, but many issues unresolved

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1244663337-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421297" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1244663337-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1244663337-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1244663337-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1244663337-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1244663337-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1244663337-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Participants walk in front of COP27 logo in the Green Zone on the fourth day of the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference, held by UNFCCC in Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Center, Egypt on November 10, 2022. COP27, running from November 6 to November 18 in Sharm El Sheikh focuses on implementation of measures already agreed during previous COPs. The Conference in Sharm El Sheikh focuses also on the most vulnerable communities as the climate crisis hardens life conditions of those already most disadvantaged. on the fourth day of the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference, held by UNFCCC in Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Center, Egypt on November 10, 2022. COP27, running from November 6 to November 18 in Sharm El Sheikh focuses on implementation of measures already agreed during previous COPs. The Conference in Sharm El Sheikh focuses also on the most vulnerable communities as the climate crisis hardens life conditions of those already most disadvantaged. (Photo by Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Nov 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The world&#8217;s multi-lateral banks have &#8220;demonstrably failed&#8221; low and middle income countries when climate disasters hit and need to better assess their vulnerability and resilience when offering support, the head of the Commonwealth told Reuters.



Pressure on development finance institutions such as the World Bank has grown over the last year amid concern not enough money was being funnelled to developing countries to help them prepare for and withstand the impacts of global warming.



U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said in a side event at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt on Tuesday that he wanted a plan to reform the lending practices of the banks&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32B0OX&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">to be ready by early next year.</a>



As secretary general of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 countries that evolved out of the British Empire, Patricia Scotland said the current global financial architecture was not fit for purpose.



&#8220;We have to think again; we cannot continue with the old structure because the old structure has demonstrably failed,&#8221; she said, calling for a greater focus on the link between climate change and debt levels.



While in the past, fiscal prudence was seen as the best way to manage and grow a country&#8217;s economy, thereby meeting the needs of the people, climate change had upended the calculation.



&#8220;You could have been as prudential as you wished. You could have been as fiscally tight as you wanted. Go tell that to the hurricane. When the hurricane hits you and takes away 226% of your GDP and you go from a middle income country to a no income country, that&#8217;s got nothing to do with fiscal rectitude.&#8221;



The Commonwealth, which emerged after World War Two, presents itself as a partnership of equals.



To help better assess the vulnerability of countries to shocks including climate disasters, the Commonwealth had created the Universal Vulnerability Index, Scotland said, urging the World Bank and others to use it in their decision-making.



Rather than assessing a country&#8217;s state of development, and any likely financial assistance, through the lens of Gross Domestic Product, Scotland cited recent destructive flooding in Pakistan as an example of why it was important to factor in climate vulnerability as well.



&#8220;Many of the middle income countries are acutely vulnerable to climate, and Pakistan&#8230; (is) an example of that.



&#8220;Pakistan would be considered too big, too prosperous. It has 172 countries underneath it (in terms of economic output), but it&#8217;s the fifth most vulnerable to climate; and that middle income status did not protect them from the monsoons.&#8221;



&#8220;It didn&#8217;t protect them, and it didn&#8217;t protect the people who died either. So we have to think again.&#8221;

COP27 In Sharm El Sheikh – Day 4

Multi-lateral lenders have failed poorest over climate – Commonwealth head

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ETP6IIUGNNLTRN2LCJOQXL2HFQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421383" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ETP6IIUGNNLTRN2LCJOQXL2HFQ-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ETP6IIUGNNLTRN2LCJOQXL2HFQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ETP6IIUGNNLTRN2LCJOQXL2HFQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ETP6IIUGNNLTRN2LCJOQXL2HFQ-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ETP6IIUGNNLTRN2LCJOQXL2HFQ.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>People pass in front of a wall lit with the sign of COP27 as the COP27 climate summit takes place, at the Green Zone in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The U.N. climate agency published a first draft on Thursday of a hoped-for final agreement from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">COP27 climate summit</a>, repeating many of last year&#8217;s goals while leaving contentious issues still to be resolved.



The 20-page document is labelled a &#8220;non-paper&#8221;, indicating it is far from a final version and there are still hours if not days left in the negotiations between delegates from nearly 200 countries.



The draft repeats the goal from last year&#8217;s Glasgow Climate Pact &#8220;to accelerate measures towards the phase down of unabated coal power and phase out and rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.&#8221;



It does not call for a phase down of all fossil fuels, as India and the European Union&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N31S03S&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">had requested</a>.



Delegates&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3290E6&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">have worried</a>&nbsp;that the key sticking point around launching a&nbsp;&#8220;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3202C4&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">loss and damage</a>&#8221;&nbsp;fund for financing for countries being ravaged by climate impacts would stymie agreement at the COP27 summit in Egypt.



The text does not include details for launching such a fund &#8211; a key demand from the most climate vulnerable countries, such as island nations. Rather, it &#8220;welcomes&#8221; the fact that the topic was taken up as part of this year&#8217;s official agenda.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-underwhelmed">&#8216;UNDERWHELMED&#8217;</h2>



One negotiator from an island nation who asked not to be named said he was underwhelmed by the draft text and its &#8220;silence on the critical issue of loss and damage&#8221;.



It gives no timeline for deciding on whether a separate fund should be created or what it should look like, giving time for negotiators to continue to work on the contentious topic.



On limiting the global temperature rise, the document mirrors language included in last year&#8217;s COP26 agreement, stressing &#8220;the importance of exerting all efforts at all levels to achieve the Paris Agreement temperature goal of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.&#8221;



Other unresolved issues include calls for boosting a global goal for finance to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of a warmer world, and plans for ratcheting up targets for cutting climate-warming emissions.



At the Glasgow COP26, countries agreed to develop a plan to &#8220;urgently scale up&#8221; emission-reduction efforts in recognition that the world would need to slash emissions 45% by 2030 to keep warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), the threshold beyond which scientists say climate change risks spinning out of control.



Temperatures have already increased by 1.1C.



Climate policy experts said there was deep concern about the talks reaching consensus on many key issues.



&#8220;I think the problem is that there’s a lot in here, and lots of it will be shot down by parties on all sides&#8221;, said Tom Evans, a climate policy analyst at the E3G nonprofit think-tank.



The document is based on requests that delegates from nearly 200 countries have sought to be included in the final deal. It will provide a basis for negotiations over the coming days that are likely to substantially flesh out and rework the text.



(Additional reporting by Kate Abnett and Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Janet Lawwrence)

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U.N. publishes draft COP27 climate deal

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="551" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1439677821-820x551.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421087" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1439677821-820x551.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1439677821-300x202.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1439677821-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1439677821-768x516.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1439677821-1536x1033.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1439677821-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT &#8211; NOVEMBER 07: A sign hangs over the main entrance on day two of the UNFCCC COP27 climate conference on November 07, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The conference is bringing together political leaders and representatives from 190 countries to discuss climate-related topics including climate change adaptation, climate finance, decarbonisation, agriculture and biodiversity. The conference is running from November 6-18. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Countries were far from agreeing the contours of a climate deal at the COP27 summit in Egypt on Wednesday, with the host country urging negotiators to resolve their differences ahead of a weekend deadline.



The outcome of the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh is a test of world resolve to tackle global warming as other crises, ranging from Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine to consumer inflation, distract international attention.



Leaders from the G20 group of developed nations issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32C177&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">declaration</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday expressing support for a global goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, phase out coal and speed up climate finance.



And delegates at COP27 got a lift from a speech by Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32C0UF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lula</a>&nbsp;da Silva,&nbsp;who vowed to re-engage the rainforest nation with international efforts to fight climate change.



But inside the negotiating rooms in Egypt, deep divisions remained, according to Egypt&#8217;s COP27 presidency special representative Wael Aboulmagd.



&#8220;I think we have a larger than normal number of lingering issues,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We would have hoped under the current circumstances to see more willingness to cooperate and accommodate than we are seeing.&#8221;



An official close to the talks said divisions remained over issues including whether rich nations should set up a fund to cover irreparable damage being wrought by climate change, language addressing fossil fuels use and whether 1.5C should remain the explicit targeted limit for planetary warming.



&#8220;There is concern about how we&#8217;re to get to the end, and there is concern because we&#8217;re talking about the biggest problem facing humanity,&#8221; the official said, asking not to be named.



U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry had said on Saturday that a few countries were resisting mention of the 1.5C goal in the official text of the COP27 summit, but did not name them.



Scientists say keeping average global temperature rise to 1.5C is needed to avert the worst effects of climate change. Temperatures have already increased by 1.1C.



A European Union official said the G20 support for 1.5C could increase the chances that negotiators in Egypt would also lock in the target. But the official warned &#8220;it&#8217;s only safe when 1.5 is anchored in the cover decision,&#8221; referring to what will form the core political deal from the summit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-brazil-is-back">BRAZIL IS BACK</h2>



Lula, speaking at an event alongside governors of Brazilian Amazon states, said: &#8220;I am here to say to all of you here that Brazil is back in the world.&#8221; He also offered to host future U.N. climate talks.



Lula won the presidential election last month against right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who presided over mounting destruction of the Amazon rainforest and refused to hold the 2019 climate summit originally planned for Brazil.



This week&#8217;s G20 talks in Bali also led to an agreement between the world&#8217;s top two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, the United States and China, to resume climate cooperation after a hiatus triggered by diplomatic tensions over Taiwan.



And a coalition of countries also announced at G20 it would mobilise $20 billion of public and private finance to help&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32B0NV&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Indonesia shut coal power plants</a>, following a similar deal last year for South Africa.



The G20 declaration recognised the need to phase down use of unabated coal and phase out &#8220;inefficient&#8221; fossil fuel subsidies. It also said industrialised countries should make progress on climate finance &#8211; essentially restating goals made at previous summits.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">&#8216;MISSED OPPORTUNITY&#8217;</h2>



India, the world&#8217;s second-biggest buyer of coal, has said during the COP27 talks that it wants countries to agree to phase down all fossil fuels, rather than the narrower deal to phase down coal that was agreed at COP26 last year.



That proposal would benefit India, which has relatively small oil and gas reserves, by reducing the focus on its coal use, but has also drawn support from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N31S03S&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Union</a>, which views the idea as a step up in ambition.



But it is a sore point for African and Middle Eastern countries keen to develop their oil and natural gas resources. Saudi Arabia has said it wants to avoid a deal that would &#8220;demonize&#8221; oil and gas.



Avinash Persaud, special envoy on climate finance to Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados, meanwhile, told Reuters the G20 declaration missed the mark on finance.



&#8220;Unfunded ambition gets us nowhere fast,&#8221; Persaud said, adding he wanted G20 countries to unlock more lending from multilateral development banks they control to help climate-vulnerable countries.



&#8220;They have missed the opportunity to deliver on that today, and we are running out of time.&#8221;



For daily comprehensive coverage on COP27 in your inbox, sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/newsletters/reuters-sustainable-switch/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>



FACTBOX-COP27: Counting the rising cost of climate disasters<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32064K&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Children from Global South make their presence felt at climate summit<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32C2LL&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Key takeaways from the G20 summit in Bali<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N32C256&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



COP27 climate talks seen as key to success at next month&#8217;s U.N. nature summit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32B2XF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Dominic Evans, Aidan Lewis; William James, Valerie Volcovici, Simon Jessop; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Katy Daigle, Frank Jack Daniel and Janet Lawrence)

COP27 Climate Conference: Opening Ceremony And High-Level Summit

COP27 negotiators still far apart on strong climate deal

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="615" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Q3KTTULWUVIK5ETFVZU3667JKY-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421369" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Q3KTTULWUVIK5ETFVZU3667JKY-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Q3KTTULWUVIK5ETFVZU3667JKY-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Q3KTTULWUVIK5ETFVZU3667JKY-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Q3KTTULWUVIK5ETFVZU3667JKY-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Q3KTTULWUVIK5ETFVZU3667JKY.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Former Ireland&#8217;s President Mary Robinson speaks during the opening ceremony of the One Young World summit in Manchester, Britain September 5, 2022. REUTERS/Molly Darlington</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Former Irish President Mary Robinson said on Wednesday she was concerned at the state of talks at the COP27 climate summit on planned measures to address loss and damage suffered by poorer countries as a result of climate change.



&#8220;There does seem to be a bit of a block in loss and damage. There isn&#8217;t an agreement, it would appear, across the board, on a fund here and now,&#8221; Robinson, who heads a group of prominent former world leaders known as the Elders.



She said China and Saudi Arabia were holding up talks.



&#8220;I&#8217;m also very worried about the fact that the Santiago Network negotiations last night came up with a real problem because China and Saudi Arabia &#8211; and I&#8217;m naming names&#8230; are trying to block technical assistance for loss and damage going to the most vulnerable countries,&#8221; she said



A spokesperson for the Saudi delegation to the talks declined to comment on Robinson&#8217;s remarks.



(Reporting by Simon Jessop; writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by William James and Frank Jack Daniel)

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Former Irish president Robinson worried over climate ‘loss and damage’ talks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421361" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-1.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A view of a logo of the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 11, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Support for an ambitious global warming deal by world leaders during a G20 meeting in Bali on Wednesday has given a lift to climate negotiations at the COP27 summit running in parallel in Egypt.



The boost came as talks among nearly the 200 nations at the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh risked stalling out over core issues like climate finance and limiting planetary warming at 1.5C, the point at which scientists fear far more severe climate change impacts will be unleashed.



A G20&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N31S042&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">declaration</a>&nbsp;on Wednesday said &#8220;we will play our part fully in implementing&#8221; last year&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href="https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2021_10_add1_adv.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Glasgow Climate Pact</a>, under which countries pledged to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial times.



&#8220;We resolve to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. This will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries,&#8221; the leaders said in a declaration at the end of their Bali summit.



Delegates in Egypt have been watching the G20 summit closely for signs rich nations are willing to make new commitments on climate change, even as their focus is distracted by other crises like Russia&#8217;s war on Ukraine and rampant inflation.



&#8220;We welcome this declaration, but it means all G20 countries must raise the ambition of their 2030 targets by this year or next, to ensure the climate doesn&#8217;t overshoot the 1.5 degree temperature target,&#8221; said Ghana delegate Henry Kokofu, who also represents the Climate Vulnerable Forum.



&#8220;The COP27 outcome must reflect a far stronger sense of urgency and obligation from the major emitters,&#8221; he said. &#8220;As things stand, the Glasgow Climate Pact is broken, but the G20 have the opportunity to fix it.&#8221;



U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry had said on Saturday that a few countries in Egypt were resisting mention of the 1.5 degrees goal in the official text of the COP27 summit, and President Joe Biden had urged countries last week not to let near-term crises trigger a backslide in ambition.



Scientists say keeping average global temperature rise to 1.5C is needed to avert the worst effects of climate change.



An EU official said the G20 wording could increase the chances that negotiators in Egypt would also lock in the 1.5C target. &#8220;But there are nearly 200 countries, and it&#8217;s only safe when 1.5 is anchored in the cover decision,&#8221; the official said, referring to what will form the core political deal from the summit.



Delegates at COP27 were also looking forward to a speech by Brazilian President-elect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N32A3PL&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva</a>, who has buoyed hopes for a strong deal at the summit by vowing to reengage the huge rainforest nation with international efforts to fight climate change.



Lula won the presidential election last month against right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who presided over mounting destruction of the Amazon rainforest and refused to hold the 2019 climate summit originally planned for Brazil.



This week&#8217;s talks in Bali also led to an agreement between the world&#8217;s top two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, the United States and China, to resume climate cooperation after a hiatus triggered by diplomatic tensions over Taiwan.



And a coalition of countries also announced at G20 it would mobilise $20 billion of public and private finance to help Indonesia shut coal power plants, following a similar deal last year for South Africa.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-missed-opportunity">MISSED OPPORTUNITY</h2>



The G20 declaration recognised the need to phase down use of unabated coal and phase out &#8220;inefficient&#8221; fossil fuel subsidies. It also said industrialised countries should make progress on climate finance &#8211; essentially restating goals made at previous summit.



India, the world&#8217;s second-biggest buyer of coal, has said during the COP27 talks that it wants countries to agree to phase down all fossil fuels, rather than the narrower deal to phase down just coal that was agreed at COP26 last year.



That proposal would benefit India, which has relatively small oil and gas reserves, by reducing the focus on its coal use, but has also drawn support from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N31S03S&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European Union</a>, which views the idea as a step up in ambition.



But it is a sore point for African and Middle Eastern countries keen to develop their oil and natural gas resources. Saudi Arabia has said it wants to avoid a deal that would &#8220;demonize&#8221; oil and gas.



Avinash Persaud, special envoy on climate finance to Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados, meanwhile, told Reuters the G20 declaration missed the mark on finance.



&#8220;Unfunded ambition gets us nowhere fast,&#8221; Persaud said, adding he wanted G20 countries to unlock more lending from multilateral development banks they control to help climate-vulnerable countries.



&#8220;They have missed the opportunity to deliver on that today, and we are running out of time.&#8221;



(Reporting by Dominic Evans, Aidan Lewis; William James, Valerie Volcovici, Simon Jessop; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Katy Daigle and Frank Jack Daniel)

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COP27: Climate talks get boost from G20 declaration

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="521" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CGTO73PUGBJBXEZGFULDMHFUX4-820x521.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421355" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CGTO73PUGBJBXEZGFULDMHFUX4-820x521.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CGTO73PUGBJBXEZGFULDMHFUX4-300x191.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CGTO73PUGBJBXEZGFULDMHFUX4-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CGTO73PUGBJBXEZGFULDMHFUX4-768x488.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CGTO73PUGBJBXEZGFULDMHFUX4.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Leaders plant their seedlings during a mangrove planting event at the Tahura Ngurah Rai Mangrove Forest Park as part of the G20 Leaders&#8217; Summit in Bali, Indonesia, 16 November 2022. The 17th Group of Twenty (G20) Heads of State and Government Summit runs from 15 to 16 November 2022. MAST IRHAM / Pool via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Nov 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Leaders at the G20 meeting in Bali on Wednesday agreed to pursue efforts to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius and recognized the need to speed up efforts to phase down coal use, in a potential boost to the COP27 climate talks.



Delegates at the U.N. climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where progress towards an agreement by the end of the week has been slow, have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32A1TJ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">watching the G20</a>&nbsp;summit closely for signs that developed nations are willing to make new commitments on climate.



&#8220;Mindful of our leadership role, we reaffirm our steadfast commitments, in pursuit of the objective of UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) to tackle climate change by strengthening the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and its temperature goal,&#8221; a declaration issued at the end of the meeting said.



World governments agreed in 2015 during a U.N. summit in France to try to limit the average global temperature increase to 1.5C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, a deal dubbed the Paris Agreement that was seen as a breakthrough in international climate ambition.



&#8220;We resolve to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. This will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries,&#8221; the G20 statement said.



U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry said on Saturday that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32809K&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a few countries had resisted</a>&nbsp;mentioning the 1.5C goal in the official text of the COP27 summit



The G20 declaration urged delegates at COP27 to &#8220;urgently scale up&#8221; efforts at the summit on the issue of mitigating and adapting to climate change.



It also made reference to the need to accelerate &#8220;efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power, in line with national circumstances and recognising the need for support towards just transitions.&#8221;



India, the world&#8217;s second-biggest buyer of coal, wants countries to agree to phase down&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32B4FX&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">all fossil fuels</a>&nbsp;rather than a narrower deal to phase down coal that was agreed at COP26 last year.



&#8220;We will play our part fully in implementing the (COP26) Glasgow Climate Pact,&#8221; the G20 leaders said.



The statement also reaffirmed an international goal to phase out &#8220;inefficient fossil fuel subsidies&#8221; and urged developed nations to meet their commitments to provide $100 billion a year for climate mitigation.



(Reporting by Stanley Widianto in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, Ananda Teresia in Jakarta, Andreas Rinke in Berlin; Writing by William James, editing by Dominic Evans and Janet Lawrence)

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G20 agrees to pursue efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5C

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="546" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CMXL76LMOJK73F2OTKVF3J4HO4-820x546.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421349" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CMXL76LMOJK73F2OTKVF3J4HO4-820x546.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CMXL76LMOJK73F2OTKVF3J4HO4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CMXL76LMOJK73F2OTKVF3J4HO4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CMXL76LMOJK73F2OTKVF3J4HO4-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/CMXL76LMOJK73F2OTKVF3J4HO4.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A Callithrix monkey is seen in an Atlantic forest area in Mairipora, Brazil January 10, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;With the annual U.N. climate summit in its final week, many of the world&#8217;s environment ministers assembled in Egypt have begun setting their sights on another high-stakes meeting for nature taking place next month.



But for those talks on protecting nature to be a success, experts say, governments must bring global warming in check.



&#8220;Climate change is one of the big drivers of biodiversity loss,&#8221; said David Cooper, the deputy chief of U.N.&#8217;s Convention on Biological Diversity.



The U.N. agency will convene its next global summit on biodiversity next month in Montreal, after host country China&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2VW65H&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">postponed</a>&nbsp;the event four times through the global COVID-19 pandemic.



At the&nbsp;COP15&nbsp;talks scheduled for Dec. 7-19, national delegations will hash out a new global deal to protect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N31B0S0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plummeting</a>&nbsp;wildlife populations worldwide and halt the continuing degradation<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2WP0MB&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;of landscapes</a>.



Campaigners are calling for a full-fledged &#8220;Paris Agreement for nature&#8221;&nbsp;under which&nbsp;countries set national&nbsp;conservation&nbsp;targets and then report&nbsp;routinely&nbsp;on their progress in meeting them.



But first, the world needs to see success made on tackling climate challenges in Egypt, experts say.



&#8220;If we don&#8217;t have successful outcomes in the climate process, then we cannot halt biodiversity loss,&#8221; Cooper said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-heated-habitats">HEATED HABITATS</h2>



Earth has seen five mass extinction events, and scientists believe the planet&#8217;s sixth is in progress now &#8211; with animal and plant species vanishing at a rate not seen in 10 million years.



The world&#8217;s wildlife crisis is driven by habitat loss and pollution, with climate change posing an increasing threat as global temperatures climb.



Without steep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, as&nbsp;many&nbsp;as half of all species&nbsp;by century&#8217;s end will be facing temperatures and conditions beyond their ability to survive, according to research published in 2018 in the journal Science.



Those that can&#8217;t migrate or adapt will perish.&nbsp;The loss of forests and other ecosystems like coral reefs and seagrass beds will also leave the world with fewer natural forms of carbon sequestration. Already, these &#8220;carbon sinks&#8221; absorb about&nbsp;half of the excess emissions humans are pumping into the air from burning fossil fuels.



&#8220;We are also seeing that biodiversity provides solutions to climate change, and that&#8217;s why they need to be looked at together,&#8221; said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the CBD&#8217;s executive secretary.



Scientists and campaigners are pushing for next month&#8217;s COP15 conference to conclude with a &#8220;nature positive&#8221; agreement that commits countries to ensuring there are more wild spaces and creatures in seven years&#8217; time than there are now.



&#8220;You cannot have a dream of coping with climate change only through the emissions,&#8221; Virginijus Sinkevičiu, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, told Reuters. &#8220;If ecosystems are not able to cope, you don&#8217;t have a success story&#8221; in fighting climate change.



&#8220;This is the biggest danger,&#8221; she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">PARIS AGREEMENT FOR NATURE</h2>



With just weeks before the COP15 summit begins, the draft of a hoped-for biodiversity deal has yet to be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2YD0DL&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">finalized</a>.



&#8220;Looking at COP15, we are worried,&#8221; said Marco Lambertini, director general of World Wildlife Fund International.



On Wednesday, the architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to well under 2 degrees Celsius, issued a statement urging world leaders to secure a similar deal on nature.



&#8220;There is no pathway to limiting global warming to 1.5C without action on protecting and restoring nature,&#8221; the statement said.



Campaigners and delegates told Reuters they want to see a strong cover statement on biodiversity come out of COP27 before they head to Montreal. While the talks are now being held in Canada, China remains the official host.



Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault&nbsp;also&nbsp;said he &#8220;would like to see a strong acknowledgement for the Convention of Biodiversity in the final COP27 outcome.&#8221;



The Chinese delegation at COP27 did not respond to a request for comment. President Xi Jinping has not attended the climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh and is also not expected to attend COP15.



For daily comprehensive coverage on COP27 in your inbox, sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/newsletters/reuters-sustainable-switch/?utm_source=site&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=cop27">here</a>



(Reporting by Gloria Dickie, editing by Deepa Babington)

CMXL76LMOJK73F2OTKVF3J4HO4

COP27 climate talks seen as key to success at next month’s U.N. nature summit

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/OLYGX7HKJ5MDTHISP7QZC72AB4-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421345" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/OLYGX7HKJ5MDTHISP7QZC72AB4-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/OLYGX7HKJ5MDTHISP7QZC72AB4-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/OLYGX7HKJ5MDTHISP7QZC72AB4-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/OLYGX7HKJ5MDTHISP7QZC72AB4-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/OLYGX7HKJ5MDTHISP7QZC72AB4.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via Reuters</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Time is ticking for COP27 negotiators, who are now in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32B0G5&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crunch time</a>&nbsp;to reach a final deal for this year&#8217;s U.N. climate summit in Egypt.



But the top ticket item on the conference&#8217;s official agenda on Wednesday will be an afternoon speech by Brazil&#8217;s&nbsp;Luiz Inacio&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32B0QO&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lula da Silva</a>, who has been newly elected president.



Lula also meets with Brazilian state governors from the Amazon forest region during the day. He also plans to meet with the EU climate policy chief, Frans Timmermans.



Overall, the conference will take on the theme of &#8220;biodiversity,&#8221; with experts calling for strong climate action as a crucial part of saving nature.



Meanwhile, delegates and negotiators will be anxiously trying to reach agreement on a slew of contentious issues before the end of the conference, scheduled for Friday. But with much to get done, some are already saying the talks may go overtime into the weekend.



The Egyptian COP27 Presidency is expected to give an update on where the talks stand.



For daily comprehensive coverage on COP27 in your inbox, sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/newsletters/reuters-sustainable-switch/?utm_source=site&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=cop27">here</a>



(Reporting by Katy Daigle, editing by Deepa Babington)

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What to watch on Wednesday at COP27

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="614" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-1288637369-820x614.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417600" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-1288637369-820x614.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-1288637369-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-1288637369-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-1288637369-768x575.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-1288637369-1536x1150.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GettyImages-1288637369-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>The United States two-dollar bill ($2) is a current denomination of United States currency. A portrait of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States (1801–09), is featured on the obverse of the note. The reverse features an engraving of the painting Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull. photographed by Peter Dazeley Nov 2020 in his studio in London UK</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Nov 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Actis, one of the biggest investors of private capital in Africa, could invest up to $300 million annually in renewable energy and gas-fired power projects on the continent, a senior official said on Tuesday.



Actis has invested over $2 billion in energy infrastructure in Africa over the past two decades in utility scale renewable projects, commercial and industrial solar plants and power generation with natural gas.



Lisa Pinsley, Actis&#8217; Head of Energy in the Middle East and Africa, said it wanted to ramp up those investments.



&#8220;We could be looking at investing $200 to $300 million a year if the opportunity presents itself,&#8221; she told Reuters in an interview.



&#8220;We certainly have the appetite, and we have the funds. It&#8217;s a question of whether we find the right opportunity.&#8221;



Africa has just a 2% share of global renewable capacity compared with 8% for South America and 48% for Asia, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.



Growing the continent&#8217;s renewables capacity presents an opportunity for investors, Pinsley said. But Actis will need to weigh the return on investments versus other regions.



Most utilities in Africa are still state-owned and many suffer from financial distress. Returns will therefore need to reflect that risk in order to attract private investors, she said.



Actis will also invest in gas infrastructure and gas-to-power projects, Pinsley said, but added it would not invest in any liquid fuel or oil and gas exploration and production projects in Africa.



Africa accounts for less than 3% of the world&#8217;s energy-linked carbon emission but it is the most disproportionately hit by climate change.



African leaders at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3261SV&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">have argued</a>&nbsp;they must be allowed to develop oil and gas resources to help lift their people out of poverty.



(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Joe Bavier and Mark Potter)

Several two US dollar bill sitting in a pile

Actis sees annual investments of up to $300 mln in Africa energy

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421313" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/V524WR3YLNJFXMU3A6LHPLJZ44.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A view of a logo of the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 11, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Government ministers and negotiators from nearly 200 countries on Tuesday began the hard work of finding common ground for a deal at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">annual U.N. climate talks</a>, based on a sketched first outline in the hands of delegates at the summit in Egypt.



Released late Monday by the Egyptian COP27 Presidency, the document lists two pages of bullet points outlining many of the issues countries have asked be included &#8211; including contentious points that have nations deeply divided.



The document is titled a &#8220;non-paper,&#8221; making clear it was far from an official draft of what might actually be approved by countries at the summit&#8217;s close, scheduled for Friday, as the core political agreement from the two-week event.



&#8220;It&#8217;s all boiling down to the last days,&#8221; EU environment policy chief Virginijus Sinkevicius told Reuters on the sidelines of the summit.



&#8220;It seems like still we are quite far from what we would love to have as an outcome, but I&#8217;m sure as more and more energy is put in, it will boil down to the last days and maybe last minutes,&#8221; he said.



Belize negotiator Carlos Fuller said countries would be discussing the document Tuesday evening, and could even add more to the &#8220;laundry list&#8221; of issues so far outlined.



A section in the draft on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3202C4&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">loss and damage</a>&nbsp;&#8211; referring to funding for developing countries facing unavoidable damage caused by climate change &#8211; suggested the deal would address the &#8220;need for funding arrangements&#8221; to tackle this.



It did not, however, give any hint of whether the final deal will include a new loss and damage fund &#8211; which developing countries are demanding in the negotiations, but which the European Union and United States&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AKBN2S207E&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">are wary of</a>.



The failure by rich nations to deliver in full on a past pledge to deliver $100 billion in annual climate finance to developing countries has rankled in recent years of climate talks. Last year, wealthy nations paid about $83 billion toward the goal, but said they&#8217;d meet the full pledge only in 2023.



&#8220;We cannot afford a further erosion of trust between the developed and developing countries,&#8221; said Samoa&#8217;s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa.



&#8220;Let us make COP27 the turning point in our efforts to make the rhetoric history and the mirages real,&#8221; Mataafa said.



The burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change, but coal, gas and oil were notably absent in the draft deal.



India surprised some countries last week by pushing for a deal at the summit to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3280J9&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phase down</a>&nbsp;all fossil fuels – rather than just coal, as countries agreed at last year&#8217;s U.N. summit. The draft COP27 text did not hint at which route the final deal will take on this issue.



The document did mention the urgent need for action to keep within reach the globally agreed goal to prevent the world heating beyond 1.5C above preindustrial levels, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.



&#8220;We cannot lose 1.5 at this COP,&#8221; said Alok Sharma, president of last year&#8217;s U.N. climate summit, COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland. Sharma was speaking at a side event Tuesday at the summit in Egypt.



Tom Evans, a policy analyst at non-profit think tank E3G, said the draft text was a &#8220;wish list of items,&#8221; but it did not reveal what is likely to make it into the final deal.



&#8220;Many of the issues hinted at in this paper are under live discussion at the G20 leaders summit,&#8221; he said, adding that what Group of 20 country&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N32A5BF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leaders decide</a>&nbsp;during their meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in Bali on issues including phasing down fossil fuels could steer the COP27 summit&#8217;s final outcome.



For daily comprehensive coverage on COP27 in your inbox, sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/newsletters/reuters-sustainable-switch/?utm_source=site&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=cop27">here</a>



(Reporting by Kate Abnett, Gloria Dickie, William James; Writing by Katy Daigle; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

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First sketch of hoped-for COP27 deal kicks off crunch talks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/EWEDMZCZRRJVFODFJBHLB2PCBU-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421305" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/EWEDMZCZRRJVFODFJBHLB2PCBU-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/EWEDMZCZRRJVFODFJBHLB2PCBU-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/EWEDMZCZRRJVFODFJBHLB2PCBU-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/EWEDMZCZRRJVFODFJBHLB2PCBU-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/EWEDMZCZRRJVFODFJBHLB2PCBU.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>People crowd a market place as they shop in preparation for Christmas in Lagos, Nigeria December 18, 2021. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The world population&nbsp;surged past&nbsp;8 billion people&nbsp;on Tuesday, the United Nations said, warning that&nbsp;more hardship is in store for regions already facing resource scarcity due to climate change.



Whether its food or water, batteries or gasoline, there will be less to go around as the global population adds another 2.4 billion people by the 2080s, according to U.N. projections.



&#8220;Every single person needs fuel, wood, water, and a place to call home,&#8221; said Stephanie Feldstein, population and sustainability director with the Center for Biological Diversity.



Resource pressure will be especially daunting in African nations, where populations are expected to boom, experts say. These are also among the countries most vulnerable to climate impacts, and most in need of climate finance.



In sub-Saharan Africa, where some 738 million people already live without adequate food supplies, the population is projected to jump by 95% by mid-century, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace. The think tank warned in an October report that much of sub-Saharan Africa will be unsustainable by mid-century.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">&#8220;A SIGN OF HUMAN SUCCESS&#8221;</h2>



Globally, the 8 billion population milestone represents 1 billion people added to the planet in just the last 11 years.



Reaching 8 billion people is &#8220;a sign of human success, but it&#8217;s also a great risk for our future,&#8221; said John Wilmoth, director of the U.N.&#8217;s population division.



Middle-income countries, mostly in Asia, accounted for most of that growth, gaining some 700 million people since 2011. India added about 180 million people, and is set to surpass China as the world&#8217;s most populous nation next year.



However, births have been steadily declining in the United States, Europe, and Japan. China, too, has struggled with the legacy of its One Child Policy program and last year urged families to have a second and even third child as it also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AB9N2Q200H&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">limited access</a>&nbsp;to non-medical abortions.



Even while the global population reaches ever-new highs, demographers note that the growth rate has fallen steadily to less than 1% per year.&nbsp;This should keep the world from reaching 9 billion people until&nbsp;2037. The U.N. projects population will peak at around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s and remain at that level until 2100.



&#8220;A big part of this story is that this era of rapid population growth that the world has known for centuries is coming to an end,&#8221; Wilmoth said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growing-concern">GROWING CONCERN</h2>



Most of the 2.4 billion people to be added before the global population peaks will be born in sub-Saharan Africa, marking a shift away from China and India.



&#8220;African cities will, on average, grow,&#8221;&nbsp;said Deborah Balk, a demographic researcher at the City University of New York. This will leave millions more urban dwellers exposed to climate threats such as rising seas.



Across the world, &#8220;the coastal zone is disproportionately urban,&#8221; she said. &#8220;About one in 10 people live in the low-lying coastal zone.&#8221;



The coastal Nigerian city of Lagos, for example, is projected to become the world&#8217;s largest city by century&#8217;s end.



Rapid population growth combined with climate change is likely to cause mass migration and conflict in coming decades, experts said.



And having more people on the planet puts more pressure on nature, as people compete with wildlife for water, food and space. But how much they consume is equally important, suggesting policymakers can make a big difference by mandating a shift in consumption patterns.



Carbon emissions of the richest 1 percent, or about 63 million people, were more than double the emissions of the poorest half of humanity between 1990 and 2015, according to a 2020&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/carbon-emissions-richest-1-percent-more-double-emissions-poorest-half-humanity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a>&nbsp;by the Stockholm Environment Institute and non-profit Oxfam International.



Humanity&#8217;s impact on the natural world &#8220;has more to do with how we behave than how many we are,&#8221; Wilmoth said.



(Reporting by Gloria Dickie; Editing by Katy Daigle, Frank John Daniel and David Gregorio)

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Climate justice gets harder as world population passes 8 billion

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="491" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ILFYIPMDGRIQVNBYIZXNM5I5FI.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421280" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ILFYIPMDGRIQVNBYIZXNM5I5FI.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ILFYIPMDGRIQVNBYIZXNM5I5FI-300x202.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ILFYIPMDGRIQVNBYIZXNM5I5FI-133x90.jpg 133w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>Attendees stand during the COP27 climate summit in Egypt&#8217;s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 8, 2022. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani</figcaption></figure>



Nov 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Official events at the COP27 climate conference resume on Monday after a day of rest, with negotiators from nearly 200 countries diving into fractious debates on climate finance.



The negotiators will be trying before government ministers arrive this week to make as much progress as possible towards a hoped-for deal out of the annual U.N. climate summit.



But with one week left for the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3280GS&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">frustrations</a>&nbsp;were starting to emerge, specifically over the thorny issue of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3202C4&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;loss and damage&#8221;</a>, or financial support for developing countries hit by climate-fueled disasters.



All eyes turned on Monday towards Indonesia, where Chinese President Xi Jinping&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3290E9&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was meeting</a>&nbsp;with U.S. President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N31S036&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;on climate issues ahead of the G20 meeting starting on Tuesday in Bali. Experts said that whatever results from that meeting between the leaders of the world&#8217;s two biggest polluting countries will have a big impact on the COP27 talks.



Other news out of G20 that Indonesia was teaming up with the Asian Development Bank and a private power firm to refinance and prematurely&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N328092&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">retire a coal-fired power plant</a>&nbsp;was sure to buoy the mood in Egypt. The deal is part of a global effort to accelerate the mothballing of coal capacity in developing countries.



Also, a G7 plan &#8211; called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N3232Z5&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Shield</a>&nbsp;&#8211; is expected to be announced on Monday at COP27 for funneling emergency climate funding to developing countries.



As well, India is expected to announce on Monday in Egypt its long-term strategy to slash emissions at home. Sources say the South Asian giant will be arguing for a global &#8220;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3280J9&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phase down</a>&#8221; of all fossil fuels.



The Ukrainian environment minister was also due to arrive at the U.N. summit. Last week, members of Ukraine&#8217;s COP27 delegation said they hoped their presence&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3241IJ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">drew attention to the climate and environmental consequences</a>&nbsp;of Russia&#8217;s February invasion of their country.



(Writing by Katy Daigle; Editing by Tom Hogue)

COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh

What to watch on Monday at COP27

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="496" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/E5333SMX3ZMQXPBXVK6WUAFSFQ-820x496.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421258" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/E5333SMX3ZMQXPBXVK6WUAFSFQ-820x496.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/E5333SMX3ZMQXPBXVK6WUAFSFQ-300x182.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/E5333SMX3ZMQXPBXVK6WUAFSFQ-149x90.jpg 149w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/E5333SMX3ZMQXPBXVK6WUAFSFQ-768x465.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/E5333SMX3ZMQXPBXVK6WUAFSFQ.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action sits next to Sanaa Seif, sister of Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah as they attend a talk at the German Pavilion at the COP27 climate summit in Red Sea resort at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 8, 2022. REUTERS/Emilie Madi</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The list of countries who pay towards helping poorer countries cope with climate change should be updated, Germany&#8217;s climate envoy said on Friday, indicating that countries like China should be included to reflect their economic growth.



In 2009, developed countries promised that by 2020 they would transfer $100 billion per year to vulnerable states hit by increasingly severe climate-linked impacts and disasters. That goal is expected to be reached next year, three years late.



Even before they have achieved that goal, countries are discussing how the next target will be set for climate finance after 2025. Who pays into it is under discussion at COP27, the annual United Nations climate change summit currently being held in Egypt.



The list of contributors is currently based on a 1992 framework that classes China, the world&#8217;s second largest economy, as a developing country.



&#8220;I think it&#8217;s very clear that we are now in 2022,&#8221; Jennifer Morgan said, in response to a question about whether China should in future also be one of the countries that contributes. Morgan did not make specific reference to China.



&#8220;The world has fundamentally changed. And so we would expect that the convention and the rules here and who pays would also adjust to the fact that there is thankfully &#8230; much more wealth in a number of emerging economies,&#8221; she said, speaking at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh.



China and other emerging economies maintain that wealthy nations developed using carbon intensive industries over centuries that led to the climate crisis.



Analysts expect China to beat its target to reach peak emissions before 2030 after which emissions will start to drop. Beijing has so far resisted pressure to formally pull forward that date.



Beijing contributes some climate finance and said this week it would be willing to support a mechanism for compensating poorer countries for losses and damage caused by climate change, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N31J08A&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said that would not involve contributing cash</a>.



&#8220;Obviously, that is all part of the negotiations, but we would expect there to be a broader donor base moving forward based on the economic strength that now is coming from a number of countries around the world,&#8221; Morgan said.



European Union officials have also suggested China should be providing more climate finance, and said its &#8220;developing country&#8221; status cannot be used as an excuse not to step up its emissions-cutting commitments.



&#8220;If you&#8217;re responsible for almost 30% of emissions, you cannot say, &#8216;But I&#8217;m a developing country, so don&#8217;t look at me&#8217;,&#8221; EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans told a September meeting in Rotterdam on climate adaptation in Africa.



(Reporting by William James, additional reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

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COP27: Future climate cash must come from bigger group of nations, says Germany

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/664KJCESJBN6BBIAQC3M3QYS5Q-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421252" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/664KJCESJBN6BBIAQC3M3QYS5Q-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/664KJCESJBN6BBIAQC3M3QYS5Q-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/664KJCESJBN6BBIAQC3M3QYS5Q-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/664KJCESJBN6BBIAQC3M3QYS5Q-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/664KJCESJBN6BBIAQC3M3QYS5Q.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>People pass in front of a wall lit with the sign of COP27, as the COP27 climate summit takes place, at the Green Zone in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 10, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany</figcaption></figure>



SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at the COP27 conference on Friday where delegates expect him to try to pump up global ambition to fight climate change, despite the depressing distractions of war and inflation.



His visit is the first stop in a packed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3252SY&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">week-long trip</a>&nbsp;to grapple with some of the United States&#8217; thorniest foreign policy issues, boosted by a better-than-expected showing by his Democratic party&#8217;s candidates in the midterm elections for U.S. Congress.



Biden&#8217;s speech in Sharm el-Sheikh will remind countries to stay focused on the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. He will also discuss the importance of public-private partnership and detail U.S. efforts to decarbonize and lower methane emissions.



Among announcements likely timed for his arrival, the United States and the European Union plan to make a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N32534H&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">joint announcement</a>&nbsp;pledging to crack down on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. Washington and Brussels already have proposals to do this, but the declaration is meant to encourage other countries to do the same, building on the Global Methane Pledge to slash methane emissions 30% this decade.



U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold an afternoon press conference at the summit, where she may elaborate on what the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N31S02X&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">midterm elections</a>&nbsp;mean for America&#8217;s ability to pass new climate laws. As of Thursday, she was not ready to concede Congress to the Republican party: &#8220;We&#8217;re still in the fight,&#8221; she said, as votes kept rolling in.



The 2022 edition of the Global Carbon Budget report will also be released, showing new data on the current state of global carbon emissions, trends, and sources. It also will answer the critical question: how many years are left before the world&#8217;s chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C falls below 50%?



(Reporting by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by David Gregorio)

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