Cop27 climate summit begins as report reveals last 8 years hottest on record

Jump to contentSign up to our newslettersSubscribeNewsSportsVoicesCultureLifestyleTravelPremiumClimateLiam JamesSunday 06 November 2022 13:47CommentsCloseCop27: From world leaders to celebrities – who is attending the climate summit?The global climate summit Cop27 opens today in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, as world leaders, scientists, and activists gather for the next two weeks to hash out the pacts urgently needed to limit planetary catastrophe.It has been a tumultuous 12 months since the last summit in Glasgow. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to global energy shortfalls, triggering cost of living crises in rich countries and leaving some poorer nations on the brink of famine.There has also been a wave of disasters triggered by the climate crisis – from devastating flooding in Pakistan and western and central Africa, to wildfires and deadly heatwaves across Europe, and Hurricane Ian’s decimation of Florida. A deluge of new scientific reports warn that the world remains far off-track in preventing further dangerous temperature rise.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned this week the 2020s are a ‘crucial’ decade, ‘when the global climate fight will be won or lost’.The planet’s carbon footprint must be cut nearly in half by the end of the decade to hold back from dangerous temperature rise. No progress without global leadership, says UK’s former climate envoy1667741431Hundreds of climate activists were arrested in Amsterdam after blocking private jets from taking off – on bikes. Protesters stormed the Schiphol airport on Saturday, and were seen cycling around the Tarmac as security guards tried to bring them down. ‘We want fewer flights, more trains and a ban on unnecessary short-haul flights and private jets,’ said Dewi Zloch of Netherlands Greenpeace. Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 13:301667740531The sister of detained writer Alaa Abd El-Fattah fears the Foreign Office is ‘setting up the Prime Minister to fail’ on his Cop27 trip to Egypt because her brother may die there while on hunger strike during the conference.Rishi Sunak told the family of the British-Egyptian activist in a letter that he will raise their plight with the Egyptian president – but would be updating the family after the climate summit is over, which they say could be too late.Mr Abd El-Fattah has been imprisoned in Cairo since 2006 over his pro-democracy writing.He has been on hunger strike in prison, eating only 100 daily calories for the past 200 days, and will stop drinking water as the summit begins to escalate his protest.Mr Sunak wrote to his family on Saturday saying he was ‘totally committed’ to resolving the case, which he described as ‘a priority for the British Government both as a human rights defender and as a British national’.He described Cop27 as ‘another opportunity to raise your brother’s case with the Egyptian leadership’ and said Middle East minister Lord Ahmad would update the family on negotiations after the summit – which finishes on November 18.Mr Abd El-Fattah’s sister, Sanaa Seif, said she was worried her brother, who looked ‘very, very frail’ with ‘sunken eyes’ last time she saw him in August, would die before the end of Cop27.She told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: ‘It’s good that we have a commitment from the Prime Minister’s office, but what worried me is he said we would get confirmation after the conference.’I feel like the Prime Minister needs to understand the urgency – after the conference it could be too late.’I know it’s not the Prime Minister’s mistake, but the Foreign Office, the embassy, they have been working on this for a very long time, and I feel like they are setting up the Prime Minister to fail in this trip.’Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 13:151667738731Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called into doubt the Government’s leadership on climate change.Asked about the chances of success from the UN’s Cop27 climate change conference, he told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: ‘I don’t think so, unfortunately. I don’t think there’s been the leadership either from our country or frankly from other countries…’People haven’t seen the opportunity that if you invest in renewables, you invest in insulating people’s homes, you lower people’s bills – really important at the moment – and you protect the environment and you annoy President Putin because you get great energy security for our country and for the Western world.’So there should have been in the run up to Cop a taking of the opportunity by people across the world, and I’m afraid that’s not happened.’Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 12:451667737846As Cop27 gets underway, we speak to communities on the frontline about their fears for the future in our Voices of Africa series. Mohamed Adow shares his thoughts:’For many Africans, climate change is not a ‘scientific’ issue or something only of interest to environment reporters. ‘And it’s not about polar bears. For us it’s an existential threat to our way of life; one which is already taking our loved ones and our livelihoods. So, it feels good to have the UN climate summit, Cop27, back on African soil this month, where the climate crisis is a true matter of life or death.’The great tragedy of the climate crisis is that it is those least responsible that are suffering the consequences first and worst. It will come for everyone eventually, and we’re already seeing those impacts in the UK and other global north countries. But for many of us in Africa it’s now a daily reality, one which we didn’t create.’That is why this Cop27 needs to finally put the interests of those actually suffering the most at the top of the agenda.’Click here for the full story. Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 12:301667736574The past eight years have been Earth’s hottest on record, findings revealed, as the critical United Nations climate summit Cop27 gets underway.World leaders and thousands of negotiators, scientists, and activists are gathering in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt for the next two weeks to hash out the global pacts urgently needed to avoid planetary catastrophe.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned this week that the 2020s are a ‘crucial’ decade, ‘when the global climate fight will be won or lost’.Click here for the full story. Global temperatures increased again in 2022Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 12:091667735986As Cop27 gets underway, we speak to communities on the frontline about their fears for the future in our Voices of Africa series. Oladosu Adenike shares her thoughts:’The climate crisis disproportionately affects the global south. In Nigeria, climate change is no longer a threat but a reality.’This year’s flood in Nigeria has affected millions of people: homes, farms, schools – our country has lost billions of dollars to the damages. It has affected more than two-thirds of Nigeria, which makes it a total disaster. ‘Yet this is just one of the several realities of the climate crisis we are faced with. This has been our reality for a very long time.’Currently, in my region – west Africa – the climate crisis is exacerbating armed conflict and violence between farmers and herders, due to resources control and the loss of livelihoods. It is the same in other regions of Africa. ‘Climate change is driving hunger, food insecurity and poverty due to environmental instability.’Click here for the full story. Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 11:591667735146Mr Miliband said there was a need to be ‘all in’ on renewable and zero carbon alternatives.He told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: ‘The message that Labour would be taking to Cop27 and that I will be taking at the end of this coming week when I go, is that it is now cheaper to save the world, than to destroy it… at home and abroad we need to be all-in on those renewable and zero carbon alternatives.’He described the Government’s onshore wind stance as ‘terrible’ adding: ‘That is driving up their (people’s) bills… so the Government is saying no to the cheapest, cleanest form of power… it makes no sense and it makes a complete joke frankly of Rishi Sunak, the man who couldn’t even decide whether he was going to go Cop27, it makes a complete joke of the idea that he’s somehow a leader on clean energy.’Labour, he said, ‘do oppose’ new drilling licences in the North Sea, adding: ‘The way to cut bills, to give us energy security, is onshore wind, offshore wind, solar and Labour has a world-leading plan to say by 2030 all of the power that powers our electricity system will be come zero-carbon sources.’The commitment he added was ‘stretching and is absolutely achievable’.Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 11:451667734919The opening session of the Cop27 kicked off at the Egyptian sea side resort town of Sharm el Sheikh with Cop26 president Alok Sharma handing over the presidency to finance minister Sameh Shoukry.The opening ceremony of the session, attended by The Independent, saw Mr Sharma and the incoming president speak of the hope and continued trust in the negotiations despite criticism of insufficient action.Mr Sharma said despite the challenges world is facing this year with Russia-Ukraine war, the Cop process has managed to achieve considerable results and keep the goal of Paris agreement alive.’We kept the goal of 1.5C alive,’ Mr Sharma said. ‘Now Egypt will take it forward.’ Egypt has called this year’s summit the ‘implementation Cop’, tackling issues that were left unresolved at last year’s summit.Over 120 world leaders are expected to arrive in the Egyptian seaside resort. However, some big names like Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi may not participate this year.Alok Sharma said governments needed to deliver on the commitments they had made (Jane Barlow/PA)Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 11:411667734246As Cop27 gets underway, we speak to communities on the frontline about their fears for the future in our Voices of Africa series. Abigael Kima shares her thoughts:’I see two young girls, a little over 6 years old, fetching water from a dirty water pan. They are filling a 20 litre jerry can that, once full, weighs almost as much as they do. ‘They push it home for more than a kilometre, walking along roads littered with rotting animal carcasses – the dead bodies of cattle that have neither pasture nor water to sustain them.’I am a visitor in Isiolo County, Northern Kenya. But this is the daily reality for a great many communities here in Africa.’Northern Kenya is deep in a severe and prolonged drought right now. There has been no rain for over two years. Households have been completely devastated by loss of livestock. ‘One homestead I visited had a herd of 50 cattle and 30 goats before the drought. Now they have just two cows and one goat left.’Click here for the full story. Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 11:301667733346Labour’s shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband said there was a ‘vacuum of leadership’ from the Government, adding: ‘I don’t think it has achieved what it should have done’ when asked about the UK’s Cop presidency.He told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that ‘Rishi Sunak has sent out a message with his dithering about whether he was going to go and some of his policy agenda that Britain is out of the climate leadership business’.Asked if a Labour government would pay reparations to developing countries for climate change, Mr Miliband added: ‘This is about global solidarity, yes we have some historical responsibility, but this is about global solidarity and it’s absolutely part of our aid commitment. ‘We don’t think the Government was right to cut the 0.7% (of national income for foreign aid) commitment. Absolutely it’s about supporting poorer countries.’Sam Rkaina6 November 2022 11:15Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inRegistration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inEgyptian Presidency of COP27/AFP/GettyPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in