Volume 11, Issue 4,
October - December 2022
CONTENT
Chair's Foreword
Outcomes of COP27, Sharm
el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 2022
Earth Science Events
References and selected reading
Chair's Foreword*
In this issue we briefly report
on the outcomes of the COP 27 Climate Conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
in November 2022. We make note of some initiatives that follow on from
these outcomes which suggest areas of interest to be revisited in later issues.
The 2022 COP 27 has been dubbed
the "African COP", due to being hosted on the continent and due to
the host nation prioritising the concerns of African countries including key
concerns that they share with other nations of the global south, such as doubts
over whether the $100 billion of financial commitments [1], will be met by the
industrialised nations. This is in support of the cost of losses and
damages as well as the need to fund adapted infrastructure and development for
climate change. Other concerns include, of course, whether the $100
billion is itself sufficient as $1 trillion was proposed by the African
negotiators at COP 26. Important new African-led initiatives were forged
including a) the collaboration of 32 African nations in restoring 120 million
hectares of degraded landscape by 2030 and b) the African Cities Water
Adaptation Fund (ACWA), providing finance for projects in water management and
sanitation for African cities.
As well as
acknowledging the need to help climate change vulnerable nations deal with
climate change induced damages and losses, a fund was setup to aid nations that
face severe climate change related damage.
The slow progress
in the making of adaptations for climate change is tied partly to the failure
by developed nations to honour their pledges to support the $100 billion fund.
At COP 27, an attempt was made to accelerate matters by adopting an
"Adaptation Agenda". A target date for this adaptation was set as
2030.
The progress was
also deemed to be slow in the global challenge to cut emissions. These
are facilitated through a planning framework known as NDCs (nationally
determined contributions), which each nation should present as their strategy
to cut their national carbon emissions. Since COP 26 we have seen a small
increase in the number of nations submitting their NDCs from 34 to 54 out of a
total of 194 parties.
It is convenient
here for the reader, to consider the concerns about progress surrounding
adaptations for climate change and the cutting of emissions noted above in
tandem, as they have been addressed together in the resulting Sharm el Sheikh
Implementation Plan[2], one of the key outcomes of the climate conference which
incorporates contributions made by working groups on climate change impacts[3]
and climate change mitigation[4].
It was noted that
finance reforms gained traction at the COP 27, with concern re-iterated on the
need to meet the $100 billion fund commitment. Dissatisfaction was
expressed in the way a large part of the finance is to be provided as loans
which will only serve to increase the debt burden of poor nations.
Debate lingered on
the need to accelerate the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable or
low emissions energy. From the COP26 debate, the "phase out" of
fossil fuels has been watered down to the commitment to "phase
down". At Sharm el Sheikh, 80 nations agreed to "phase
down" fossil fuels use and a commitment was made to accelerate the
deployment of renewable energy.
There was an
elevation in the importance of "nature-based solutions" to climate
change including options that retained the integrity of ecosystems. It is hoped
that this focus might also curb tendencies away from highly risky, highly
intrusive climate change mitigation solutions like geo-engineering with
potentially catastrophic and unpredictable weather and climate feedback
responses including unprecedented droughts, floods, heatwaves, or extreme
cold spells. A recent example of such weather might be the "bomb
cyclone" that gripped the US mainland in December 2022 when a sudden
temperature drop of as much as 50 degrees Celsius occurred within a few
hours due to a sudden drop in air pressure causing the lowest temperatures
recorded in US history. Dozens of people died as a result of the extreme
weather.
Towards the close
of the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan there is clear emphasis on the
importance of taking note of generational shift and involving children and
youth in the implementation of climate change mitigation solutions. The Plan
"encourages parties to include children and youth in their processes for
designing and implementing climate policy and action... recognising the
importance of ... maintaining the stability of the climate system for future
generations" [5]. In the future, it will be beneficial if this debate
continues while guided by the need to include the discussion on
developing the renewable energy transition alongside that of addressing youth
unemployment [6].
Earth Science Events
April 15-16, 2023
International Conference on Agriculture,
Biotechnology, Biological
and Biosystems Engineering
VENUE: Cape Town, South Africa
June 30, 2023
Patrice Lumumba African Youth Science Programme
Launch
August 9-10, 2023
International Conference on Tectonic
Geomorphology and Paleoseismology
VISION: https://waset.org/tectonic-geomorphology-and-paleoseismology-conference-in-august-2023-in-lagos
VENUE: Lagos, Nigeria
November 4-5, 2023
International Conference on
Agricultural Engineering
VISION: https://waset.org/agricultural-engineering-conference-in-november-2023-in-cape-town
VENUE: Cape Town, South Africa
December 13-14, 2023
International Conference on Theoretical and
Computational Seismology
VISION: https://waset.org/theoretical-and-computational-seismology-conference-in-december-2023-in-cairo
VENUE: Cairo, Egypt
References
[1] Alayza, N, P Bhandari,
et al., COP27: Key Outcomes from UN Climate Talks at Sharm
el-Shiekh, World Resources Institute, 8 December 2022. https://www.wri.org/insights/cop27-key-outcomes-un-climate-talks-sharm-el-sheikh
[2] UNFCCC, Sharm
el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, 20 November 2022.
https://unfccc.int/documents/624444?clid=CjwKCAiAr4GgBhBFEiwAgwORrb15Z6978
Hpx3tgd8S7b5EAfPUnrysjjYi1dnO9ik8nAXzt1RzvfTBoC3HMQAvD_BwE
[3] Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change 2022. Climate Change 2022: Impact Adaptation and
Vulnerability Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report
to the IPCC. H Portner, D Roberts, H Tignor, et al. (eds.), Cambridge,
United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
[4] Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change 2022. Climate Change 2022: Impact Adaptation and
Vulnerability Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report
to the IPCC. P Shukla, R Slade, et al. (eds.), Cambridge and New
York.
[5] UNFCCC, Sharm
el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, Ibid., p.9, item#55.
[6] Watts, H and B Kibiti, Accelerating
the global energy transition powered by a young workforce, Power for All,
17 February 2021.
*Board of the Society of African Earth Scientists: Dr Enas Ahmed (Egypt), Osmin Callis (Secretary - Guyana/Nigeria), Mathada Humphrey (South Africa), Ndivhuwo Cecilia Mukosi (South Africa), Damola Nadi (Nigeria), Dr Chukwunyere Kamalu (Chair - Nigeria).
