Opening of the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 6, 2022. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
According to Xinhua News Agency, the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 18 this month.
Egyptian presidency of Egypt set the slogan of the conference as "joint implementation", and Egyptian Foreign Minister and COP27 President Sameh Shoukeri pointed out that developed countries should fulfill their commitment to provide US$100 billion a year to support developing countries in adapting to climate change.
In the face of increasing climate stress from climate disasters, the United States softened its attitude towards discussing climate offset funding at the conference. However, as far as the United States is concerned, creating divisions and delaying time may become part of its actions.
The promise of "lip service"
Since the beginning of the new century, increasing climate change such as rising sea levels, floods and hurricanes has had a huge impact on developing countries. In this regard, developed countries made a commitment at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, saying that they would provide 100 billion US dollars of climate finance to developing countries every year from 2020.
However, after making the commitment, the actual action of the United States is somewhat "lip service". In an interview with the Institute on Foreign Relations at the end of October, John Kerry, the US president's special envoy for climate issues, confirmed that the Obama administration provided only about $1 billion in climate funds, while the Trump administration withdrew from the United Nations Paris Agreement and cut all related budgets. According to the World Resources Institute, the United States provided only about $3 billion in climate finance from developed to developing countries in 2020.
Hasan Nyambe, director of sustainable environment at the African Union Commission, noted ahead of this year's meeting that Africa had received just over $5 billion in climate finance between 2014 and 2018, and that "the $100 billion commitment we remember has never been met, and current assessments show that even that amount is not enough."
Fatten Agade, senior climate diplomacy adviser at the Africa Climate Foundation, said at a news conference this month that statements by Kerry and European leaders over the years had "cast doubt on the commitment of the European Union and the United States to reducing losses and damage" and said her own expectations for the issue were low at the Egyptian meeting.
This year's climate disasters have been frequent, with East African countries such as Kenya experiencing rare droughts, floods in South Asia inundating a third of Pakistan, and villages in Pacific island nations such as Fiji facing rising sea levels.
In the face of such pressure, the United States seems to have softened its position on the establishment and compensation of a special fund for climate change losses and damage in developing countries for many years, and agreed to further discuss the issue at this conference.
However, according to multiple media reports, Kerry said that while agreeing to further discussions, the United States put forward the proviso that China should also contribute with developed countries because China "should" fund any such fund.
In Borisal, in southern Bangladesh, more and more farmers are turning to the water to overcome rising sea levels caused by climate change. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
The international community is worried about the "smoke bomb" and "withdrawal from the group" of the United States
The U.S. stance on climate finance has raised widespread concern in the international community.
Some developing countries say the conference is about how countries that are deeply affected by climate change can survive, and that dragging China into such discussions could create divisions among developing countries and ultimately divert the focus of the discussions.
Mikay Robertson, negotiator for a coalition team of 39 island nations, including Antigua, has previously said that the US proposal is "a smokescreen" to distract developing countries. Michael Oppenheimer, a climate expert at Princeton University, suggested that such statements could be a "diplomatic skill" used by the United States to divide the positions of developing countries.
For developed European countries, because the United States has not made a statement on substance, the international pressure on climate change in European countries may increase.
Since the conference, Scotland, France, Germany, Austria and other countries have proposed funds ranging from millions to tens of millions of dollars for the topic of "loss and destruction".
On November 7, French President Emmanuel Macron almost publicly expressed France's dissatisfaction with the inaction of the United States in this regard. Macron said that Europe is already helping poorer countries, and now "other Western countries need to do more" and the international community "must put pressure on rich non-European countries".
In addition, according to the New York Times and other media, representatives of these developed European countries are generally worried that in view of the history of "withdrawing" from the United States, if the next US president overturns the consensus that has been reached again, Europe may be left aside by the United States and face international pressure alone.
For its part, the US softening of its stance on climate aid, especially compensation for loss and damage to developing countries, may also be a stopgap measure.
Since taking office, Biden has rejoined the United Nations Paris Agreement and passed billions of dollars in related funds, which are the achievements of the Biden administration to repair the decisions of its predecessor Republican administration. However, these achievements were accomplished during a time when the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives were simultaneously controlled by Democrats.
Now that the overall situation of the US midterm elections has been decided, with Republicans winning the House of Representatives and Republicans generally opposing climate aid, it is unlikely that the United States will make a relevant breakthrough on this issue. According to the Associated Press, senior U.S. officials have suggested that the Egypt meeting be held only in a framework manner, and that negotiations on an actual agreement could be postponed for two years.
The key to addressing climate change is to implement it effectively, and not to write empty promises. On the eve of the conference, the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change said that the conference will focus on "implementation", and expects countries to show how they implement the Paris Agreement through legislation, policies and projects.
However, these "smoke bombs", "diplomatic skills" and "expedient measures" of the United States not only cannot effectively address climate change, but may also damage the mutual trust between the North and the South and undermine the joint action of the international community.
Text/Kong Xue, senior researcher of Xinjing Think Tank
Editor/Cheng Weibin
Proofreader/Liu Yue