Cop27: summit set for crucial final week with hopes hinging on talks leading to action

The conference in Sharm El Sheikh has reached the half-way point

A climate activist at the Cop27 summit. EPA

Activists including 11-year-old Licypriya Kangujam from India (in a pink top) protest against Germany's climate policy at the summit. AP Photo

Fans of South Korean boyband BTS protest over climate change in Sharm El Sheikh. Reuters

Holding a red banner, activists protest at Cop27. EPA

BTS fans make their point. Reuters

'The flood is coming,' reads the head-turning message, in French, on the back of a woman's blue gown. AP Photo

Demonstrators at the global summit shout slogans. AFP

Students from the Pacific Islands stage a climate protest at the summit. AP Photo

Activists embrace in Sharm El Sheikh. Reuters

Banners and shouting demonstrators outside the conference centre. AFP

These protesters at Cop27 are wearing white to support political prisoners and environmental activists. AP Photo

Vegans - one dressed as a cow - protest against the killing of animals for food, in Sharm El Sheikh. EPA

The Cop27 conference is set to enter a decisive final week on Monday with much of its success hinging on the results of key negotiations aimed at securing vital support for poorer countries hardest hit by the impact of climate change.

After a Sunday rest day at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, hopes will rest on high-level talks securing concrete action on grave environmental challenges facing the globe.

So with the crucial UN climate talks around the half-way stage, what has happened so far and what can we expect next week?

First, the bad news

The summit in Egypt started with a sobering warning that the world was on a “highway to climate hell”. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, told world leaders at the opening of the summit on Monday the planet was reaching a point where “climate chaos” was irreversible.

The bad news did not stop there, with report after report released during the week outlining how leaders have repeatedly failed to act despite rising seas, melting sea ice and extreme weather events that are imperilling the world.

The avalanche of doom culminated on Friday with the release of a major report showing global emissions remain at record highs with no evidence they are slowing. The Global Carbon Brief outlined how there was a 50 per cent chance that global temperature rise will hit 1.5°C in less than a decade. If this vital threshold is breached, scientists say up to half the world's population could be exposed to life-threatening heat.

A man wears a face mask that reads "no climate justice without human rights" during a protest at the COP27 UN Climate Summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. AP

A presentation at the American University in Cairo Pavilion. Reuters

Egyptian artist Bahia Sheha stands inside her installation "Heaven & Hell in the Anthropocene." AFP

Akihiro Nishimura, minister of the environment of Japan, reviews notes with others at the COP27. AP

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, right, and Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy for climate greet each other at the COP27 UN Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. AP

Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva poses for a group photograph with representatives of his country's indigenous people. AFP

People attend the COP27 UN Climate Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh. EPA

Activists dancing during a discussion on leaflets at the Cop27 climate conference, taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. AFP

An activist wears a polar bear outfit as part of campaigning. AFP

From left, Rakia Amandou of Niger, Ba Aminata of Burkina Faso, Kenyan Rosemary Nenini, Fatima Mustafa Ahmed from Sudan and Djeneb Dicko from Burkina Faso at the Indigenous Peoples Pavilion. AP

Abdulla Nasser Musallam Al Rahbi, Oman's Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, speaks at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. AFP

Climate activists demonstrate in the designated protest zone. AP

Sheikh Abdullah, Director General of Environment at the Public Authority of Kuwait, speaks at Cop27. AFP

Visitors at the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre. AFP

A display outside the convention centre. AFP

A fountain in the green zone at the International Convention Centre at sunset. AFP

Mohamed bin Daina, right, Bahrain's Special Envoy for Climate Affairs and Chief Executive at the Supreme Council for Environment, at the conference. AFP

Members of Extinction Rebellion stage a protest at the Glencairn tidal pool outside Cape Town, South Africa to mark Cop27's 'Water Day'. AP

From left, Fahad Al Maskari of the Khalifa University, Frank Hartmann, Ghaleb Al Breiki of the UAE University, and Mouna Maroun of the University of Haifa, sign an agreement at Cop27. AFP

John Kerry, US special presidential envoy for climate, at Cop27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. AP Photo

Australian climate activists offer bananas to climate summit participants. AFP

Climate activist Sabrina Elba. AP Photo

Egyptian security forces stand guard during the protest. AFP

US President Joe Biden. AFP

Mr Biden with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. AP

A Cop27 sign in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, provides the backdrop for this woman's selfie. Reuters

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi speaks to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the climate summit. AFP

A water wonderland greets this child at an acquarium in the Cop27 Green Zone. Reuters

Mr El Sisi, second left, takes part in a cycling marathon on the sidelines of Cop27. EPA

Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks in Sharm El Sheikh about 'complicated' talks to set up a protection zone around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. AFP

Frankie the dinosaur. Reuters

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Reuters

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan, CEO of the Alliances for Global Sustainability; Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Minister of State for Food Security; and Hatem Dowidar, group CEO at e&. AFP

Sameh Shoukry, Cop27 president, centre left, poses for photos in the youth pavilion. AP

A visitor looks at the 'Zero Point' series of collage portraits by Turkish artist Deniz Sagdic, each of which is made from a particular kind of upcycled waste material. Getty

Participants visit the Ukrainian pavillon. AFP

Mr Kerry speaks during a session on accelerating the clean energy transition in developing countries. AP

Youth climate activists. Pictured, from the left, Eric Njuguna of Kenya, Nicole Becker of Argentina, Vanessa Nakate of Uganda, Sophia Kianni from Iran, and Mitzi Jonelle Tan of the Philippines. AP

Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, right, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Group, poses for a photo with Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, the UAE's Minister of State for Financial Affairs. AFP

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Bloomberg

A police officer stands at the entrance of the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre during Cop27. Reuters

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres. AP Photo

Former US vice president Al Gore speaks during a session at Cop27. AP Photo

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest. AFP

Protests at the Cop27 venue

Small protests have been taking place across the sprawling venue during the week. They intensified in frequency once world leaders left and have injected a colour and urgency to the dry Cop27 world of briefings and technical committees.

Youth delegations have lambasted leaders for inaction; activists urged the world to go vegan to save the planet; and indigenous voices have told the West they need financial support to deal with the effects of a climate change they did not cause.

Loss and damage

The issue has become so fraught it delayed the start of Cop27. Loss and damage — money to pay for the effects of climate change rather than adapt to them — has quickly become a key part of the talks. In a small, early win for the summit, it was added to the agenda at the UN's annual climate talks for the first time.

Developing countries sharply criticised wealthier nations — who also tend to be the worst emitters — for not agreeing to establish such a fund.

The crisis in Pakistan this year has again brought loss and damage into sharp focus. The country, responsible for one per cent of global emissions, suffered devastating floods that killed about 1,600 people, inundated large parts of the country and forced 33 million people towards destitution.

The US and other major rich countries have resisted paying compensation for such disasters. China said it supported developing nations and would play its part but this would not include cash.

Several counties such as Denmark, Ireland and Scotland agreed to contribute.

China and the US in informal talks

The United States and China are central to the success of the talks as they account for about half of global emissions.

But China halted climate dialogue with the US in August after the House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

However, Chinese climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua confirmed during the week that he had informal contacts during the summit with his “friend” US climate envoy John Kerry.

Delegates face difficulties in Sharm El Sheikh

Tens of thousands of Cop27 attendees, from UN officials to activists, have descended on the Red Sea resort that is typically the preserve of Russian, Ukrainian and British groups on package tours.

Delegates initially complained about huge queues and high prices at the small number of outlets at the venue, some of which were charging up to $17 for a burger. The situation improved later in the week with prices cut by 50 per cent, new outlets opening and water and soft drinks being given away for free.

The public transport system has also been pressured, with delegates seen stranded on roundabouts trying to flag down the shuttle buses to the conference venue.

What happens next

The Cop27 presidency on Saturday asked countries what they want to include in the summit’s final declaration. It said that while there had been “good progress” in many areas, others remain complex. Talks ramp up from Monday when each country will put their interests forward. Many will want to see progress on loss and damage. However, those close to the negotiations told The National the establishment of such a fund was unlikely at Cop27.

Countries also want to see action on a pledge by developed countries to provide $100 billion a year to poorer countries to help them reduce emissions and prepare for climate change.

Ministers start arriving later in the week to try to resolve these issues ahead of the summit’s final declaration expected on November 18, the closing day.