COP27 outcomes

The 27th UN Climate Change Summit known as COP27 was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt during the month, only weeks after The United Nations released the Emissions Gap Report, urging investors, governments and consumers to take more action on climate change in order limit global warming to below the Paris Agreement Goal.

The highlight of the Summit was the decision to set up a new fund for “loss and damage.” This fund will help rebuild the physical and social infrastructure of developing countries most affected by extreme weather resulting from climate change. On most other fronts however, the Summit was a disappointment with very little progress made since COP26. Notably, at COP26 in Glasgow last year, a commitment to phase down the use of coal was agreed upon by participants. At COP27, there was an initiative to go further and commit to phasing down the usage of all fossil fuels. This was the subject of intense negotiations, but in the end, no further commitments were made.

Despite the progress that could have been made after COP26 in 2021 and COP27 this year, fossil fuel investment is increasing with Shell, Chevron, Eni, TotalEnergies and others approving $58 billion of fossil fuel investment in 2021 and 1Q2022.

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