Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt: As delegates and organizations wait for the release of the latest version of the cover text, failure to secure agreement on several key issues and lack of transparency from the COP presidency makes a deal at COP27 look unlikely.
Despite being a COP hosted in Africa, voices from across the region demanding a fund for Loss and Damage and fossil fuel phase-out, have been largely ignored by the Presidency.
Zeina Khalil Hajj 350.org
“We are already in overtime at COP27 and our message is very clear – we cannot afford a bad deal. The world around us is on fire, we cannot delay implementing 1.5° C.
“We still haven’t seen the latest text but in the draft, we saw yesterday COP27 is backsliding on commitments to phase out fossil fuels which is needed to keep 1.5°C alive. The fossil fuel lobby is shaping the deal here and we cannot afford this.’
“It is now up to the presidency to lead us in that direction and we call upon the Egyptian Presidency and the negotiating parties to put people’s health, our future and the planet ahead of fossil fuel company profits.”
David Tong: Oil Change International
“Negotiations are on the verge of a breakdown even more so than in other years, we still have not seen the text and as we understand it, parties have not been given a copy of the text, they have been shown the text. We’re hearing conflicting things about what the text is saying and what we’re hearing is deeply worrying.”
Patience Nabukulu, Fridays for Future Uganda
“Years ago the rich countries promised to deliver 100 billion dollars to countries most vulnerable to climate impacts. But this money has not been delivered. There is still an opportunity for world leaders to show they care, that they have hearts, and that they have humanity. They should show that they care by showing us the money – and fulfilling the pledges they made years ago. They should phase out fossil fuels ”
Omar Elmawi, Stop Eacop
“We have been here for two weeks and we have been let down by our governments and betrayed by the fossil fuel companies. But this conference of parties is just two weeks in the year, the other fifty weeks is the conference of the people and we will continue to organize and mobilize beyond COP27 for climate justice.”
Simon Lewis, Professor of Global Change Science, University College London
“The brutal physics of climate change shows us that if we put more fossil carbon into the atmosphere we will see greater climate impacts. Climate impacts will only begin to stabilize at their worst level when we get emissions down to zero. So there couldn’t be a clearer steer from the science about the need for rapid and immediate cuts of emissions from coal, oil and gas. We are failing on that at COP27 right now.”