5 Good Ideas From COP27—and How Likely They Are to Happen

Things didn't seem to be going well at the start of the meeting. Everyone said the word trust on their lips. Many rich nations haven't fulfilled their emissions pledges since the last UN climate meeting Poor nations were angry at past failures to put their issues on the negotiating table. The venue: Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, where protesters were banned but tens of thousands of consultants and lobbyists were welcomed, and it could be concluded that COP, as a vehicle for progress, had stopped working.

It is possible that those things were true. There were some positives that came out of COP 27. Big announcements were made, debates were held in front of the cameras, and in the final moments, the negotiators produced an agreement that contained some very good ideas for the planet and the people who live on it Making those ideas come to fruition is the next step. As well as those that aren't successful, here are those that are.

On the Table

Pollsters need to pay up.

The issue of liability and compensation for the damage caused by climate change was one of the main issues of COP 27. The process that has pushed the issue off the negotiating table year after year was the reason why developing nations came in with little faith.

Getting it on the table was the first thing to do. The delegates were working late into the night before the issue could be discussed. Vulnerable nations were overjoyed when they did. Wealthy countries pushed for schemes that would exist outside of the UN framework rather than a UN-based fund dedicated to loss and damage.

Eventually, it did happen. The EU and Canada were the first to fall. The US opposition fell at the end of the meeting. The victory may be less than sweet. There is no information on where the money will come from or how much it will cost. Negotiating those issues is going to be difficult. The EU wants to force China and India to contribute to a fund that will only be used for the poor. Some of the wealthier islands have advocated for loss and damage funding from the beginning.

Later, all that will be discussed. Saleemul Huq, a climate scientist who has advocated on behalf of vulnerable nations, told me that we can leave here and say we have the Sharm el Sheikh facility. The goal is that Huq, a veteran of the process, doesn't think having only a high-level plan is a bad thing. Loss and damage advocates were hoping for a firm intention when they left Egypt.

Making sure emissions can't be hidden.

It is easy for countries to commit to cutting their carbon emissions by a certain amount. They have to tell the truth about how their emissions are changing. The people and companies inside a country need to be honest as well. Everyone is not the problem. Malaysia and Vietnam have been accused of putting forward pledges that are fantasy based on flawed assumptions.

Over the years, emissions watchdogs have gotten better at keeping tabs on pledges, using satellites and better scientific methods that estimate emissions through land use or industrial processes. Climate TRACE is a way for climate watchdogs to consolidate their tools, which is why it is a big deal. All of the oil and gas fields are to blame. The rankings get more varied. There is a steel plant There is a highway in LA. It's important to make it harder for people to hide. The UN secretary-general said at the launch event that it was becoming more difficult to greenwash or cheat.

Reducing the amount of methane.

The US has used the negotiations to push for action on methane. Humans put less of it into the air than they do carbon dioxide, but the gas is more powerful at trapping heat. Cut back methane emissions and the impact of the gas will soon diminish.

It's difficult. It is possible to get countries to say yes to cutting emissions, but harder to get them to agree on a specific path. Many nations are incentivized to ignore the outsize role that methane plays if they rely on natural gas or rice farming. There have been some successes. More than 100 countries have signed the US-led Methane Pledge, which aims to cut emissions by nearly a third from 2020 levels.