Cop27 negotiators work against the clock to salvage a deal

Ministers return to Egypt to lend their political weight to delegates wrestling with key issues

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  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

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  A presentation at the American University in Cairo Pavilion. Reuters

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

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

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  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

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

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

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

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

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  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

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  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

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  Climate activists demonstrate in the designated protest zone. AP

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

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  Visitors at the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre. AFP

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  A display outside the convention centre. AFP

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

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

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

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  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

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

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  Australian climate activists offer bananas to climate summit participants. AFP

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  Climate activist Sabrina Elba. AP Photo

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  Egyptian security forces stand guard during the protest. AFP

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  US President Joe Biden. AFP

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  Mr Biden with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. AP

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

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

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

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

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  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

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  Frankie the dinosaur. Reuters

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  US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Reuters

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  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

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

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  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

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  Participants visit the Ukrainian pavillon. AFP

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

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  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

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  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

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

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

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  United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres. AP Photo

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

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  Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest. AFP

About 200 nations from around the globe continued to chase a deal at the Cop27 summit in Egypt that will help in the struggle to save the planet from climate change.

But despite hurdles, small but significant signs surfaced that an agreement at the UN summit remained possible.

Working against the clock — the summit is scheduled to wrap up by Friday — negotiators were stepping up efforts to narrow the gap over such vital issues as loss and damage and renewing a commitment made in 2015 to limit global warming to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.

Egypt, the host country, appealed to negotiators to iron out their differences to meet the Friday deadline.

“I think we have a larger than normal number of lingering issues,” said Wael Aboulmagd, the special representative of the summit's Egyptian presidency.

“We would have hoped under the current circumstances to see more willingness to co-operate and accommodate than we are seeing.

“Some delegations are holding back work in a number of rooms. And we really hope that everyone, as we say it, rises to the occasion and appreciates that business as usual is not enough right now.”

Injecting a measure of impetus to the talks in Egypt, Group of 20 leaders, who ended a summit in Indonesia on Wednesday, expressed support for the 1.5°C ceiling on global temperature rises, phasing out coal and speeding up climate finance.

In Sharm El Sheikh, the Red Sea resort where the summit is being held, a timely boost came from an impassioned speech by Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who vowed to re-engage the rainforest nation with international efforts to fight climate change.

“Today, I am here to say that Brazil is ready to build a healthier planet,” he said. “Brazil is back.”

Loss and damage controversy

Loss and damage — climate parlance for rich nations bankrolling efforts to adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change in developing nations — is continuing to hinder progress by negotiators and polarise the talks.

Rich nations, responsible for the vast majority of climate-warming emissions, are adamant that existing finance channels should be enough to cover loss and damage and may be expanded to meet growing demand for funds by developing nations, who are the least responsible for climate change.

On Wednesday, however, the European Union climate chief Frans Timmermans, said the bloc was providing €60 million towards climate change.

Another encouraging sign came from John Kerry, the US climate envoy, who said on Wednesday that his country and China are “fully engaged” in talks at the UN climate summit in Egypt.

Mr Kerry met China's top climate official Xie Zhenhua on Tuesday, signalling a return to communication between the two after Beijing put such talks on hold three months ago in retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan.

Asked about the outcome of the meeting, Mr Kerry would only say: “We'll have to see, it’s a late start.”

China’s about-turn on climate negotiations with the US followed a partial thaw in relations between Washington and Beijing during the G20 meeting.

In their final communique, the G20 leaders declared their commitment to pursuing more ambitious limits on global warming — a positive development that prompted the representative of Egypt’s Cop27 presidency to welcome it.

There are signs that the rich nations’ position on loss and damage may be softening, but it remains to be seen whether a compromise is possible with only two days left until the summit’s conclusion.

Developing nations have for years been pressing wealthy nations for funds to deal with the damage they suffer due to climate change. This UN climate summit in Egypt was the first to include loss and damage on the agenda, a small but significant victory that was soon eclipsed by divisions over the issue.

The subject has gained additional urgency in recent months as many nations around the globe were hit by natural disasters, such as flooding that put a third of Pakistan underwater in August and widespread, lengthy droughts in parts of Africa.

Developing nations also want to see rich nations make good on financial pledges made at previous summits, particularly an annual $100 billion to help them cope with climate change.

Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the UN climate summit in Egypt. AFP

Cabinet ministers have meanwhile started to descend on Egypt to throw their political weight behind the diplomats and technical officials who have so far been leading the negotiations.

Their hope is that compromises on the divisive issues can be reached by Friday to spare the planet calamitous levels of warming in coming decades if no agreement is reached.

Delegates have also been wrestling with other issues, such as whether to renew their countries’ milestone commitment to the 1.5ºC temperature rise limit

This year's two-week summit has also fallen victim to geopolitical issues.

EU delegates walked out of a speech on Tuesday by Russia's special climate representative, while a small group of Ukrainian and Polish activists briefly disrupted a Russian side event.