UN local weather chief plans shake-up of COP annual talks after criticism

The just lately appointed UN local weather chief is planning a shake-up of the annual worldwide summit to make sure it’s clear and produces outcomes after a controversial conclusion to this 12 months’s COP27 in Egypt.

Talking hours after the local weather convention closed in Egypt, Simon Stiell, head of the UN Framework Conference on Local weather Change, mentioned he meant to overview the COP course of to make it as “efficient as doable”. 

This 12 months’s occasion ended with some key members expressing dissatisfaction with the dealing with and negotiations on the Pink Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which drew greater than 45,000 members.

Whereas many weak and creating nations praised an settlement for a fund to assist poor nations address the results of local weather change, others hit out on the dealing with of the fortnight of talks and all-night wrangling that ended with none progress on international warming targets.

Some diplomats questioned the integrity of the COP27 Egyptian presidency. “I’ve by no means skilled something like this: untransparent, unpredictable and chaotic,” mentioned one delegate.

International locations’ negotiating groups got a brief period of time within the early hours of Saturday morning to overview draft texts for a number of key points, folks acquainted with the matter mentioned. That was “not a ordinary process”, mentioned one EU official.

The dragged-out talks took the summit right into a second day of additional time, and the ultimate plenary session came about on Sunday after 3am.

Stiell has been on the opposite facet of the COP course of as the previous minister for local weather resilience and the atmosphere for the Caribbean nation of Grenada, previous to his appointment in August to steer the UNFCCC.

He mentioned he was conscious of the issues about COP27, and would overview the summit and the broader COP course of upon returning to the UNFCCC secretariat in Bonn, Germany.

“What we shall be doing once we get again house is to overview, and to have a look at areas of enchancment,” he instructed the FT.

There have been parts of the method that “will be executed higher”, Stiell mentioned, and the UN physique meant to supply suggestions to the subsequent presidency held by United Arab Emirates forward of the 2023 convention.

“The method must be as streamlined as doable, it must be as efficient as doable,” he mentioned.

The COP27 conclusion on Sunday drew blended reactions, with the finance minister of Tuvalu lamenting the “missed alternative”. Different western negotiators blamed neighbouring oil and fuel producing nations corresponding to Saudi Arabia for watering down the ultimate deal.

And the attendance of greater than 600 lobbyists from the fossil gas business provoked complaints from a bunch of scientists and local weather advocacy teams.

The ultimate hours of the summit have been marked by a push from dozens of nations to incorporate a pledge to part down all fossil fuels, which was finally unsuccessful.

Addressing the business presence, Stiell mentioned “you possibly can’t ignore them”.

“The query is how do you interact them and the place do they match throughout the course of,” he mentioned. “I consider it’s completely important that the method is totally clear.”

On whether or not transparency had been missing at COP27, Stiell mentioned “I can’t reply that however it’s one thing I’m going to have a look at”.

One potential manner to enhance the method could be to have a look at involving future COP presidencies alongside the presidency-elect for a given 12 months, Stiell mentioned. “Can we work collectively in creating an expanded agenda?”

Regardless of the frustration voiced by many as COP27 concluded, the UNFCCC head mentioned it had not been a failure.

“There was no backsliding in an atmosphere that could be very troublesome, with the vitality disaster, the place you may have seen will increase in the usage of fossil fuels,” he mentioned. The absence of backsliding was “noteworthy”, however subsequent 12 months “there is a chance for higher efficiency”. 

At subsequent 12 months’s UAE-hosted summit, a give attention to the vitality sector “was an apparent place to begin”, mentioned Stiell. The science was clear about the necessity to “transition away from fossil fuels”.