Category: Previous Issues

Alright, Presidency. It’s showtime. The curtain has been raised on week 2 but there’s little indication yet about how the final act of this COP will play out. Will it include a vision, a political message to the world in the form of a cover decision that reflects urgency and solidarity? Will it demonstrate resolve to push back against climate inaction, greenwashing, and delay?  Your silence worries ECO! We – and many others in this venue – are ready and eager to engage, but you seem to be talking to yourself. We’ve seen virtually nothing of the cover decision so far.

Despite a growing number of statements from Parties, including India, the EU, AILAC, Tuvalu and other Pacific island states, calling for the phaseout of all fossil fuels to appear in the cover decision, rumors abound that it may instead contain language promoting gas as a bridge fuel.

Mark ECO’s words: a cover decision that promotes any fossil fuel – be it coal, oil, or gas – would be an utter failure. For the world’s preeminent climate summit to have remained silent on fossil fuels for so many years was scandalous enough. For it to now come out in support of fossil fuels –whether directly or through language that perpetuates the myth we can “fix” fossil fuels through risky and unproven technologies rather than ditch them –  would be a travesty.
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Dear Santa Claus,

Brazil made fun of you on Saturday, but our crucial 1.5°C guardrail is on life support; negotiators and the presidency have not been able to deliver a robust mitigation work programme during week one; and the draft conclusions that were adopted do not even have conclusions. So ECO needs your help for week two to respond to the climate emergency, both in the cover decision and in the Mitigation Work Programme.

During the pre-2030 ambition high level round table, we heard consensus regarding the cover decision firmly commiting to limiting warming to 1.5°C. But some countries should be on your naughty list: USA for using 1.5°C as a political pawn in a geopolitical chess game; Brazil for arguing for no cover decision; and some parties are reportedly even pushing for 1.5°C not to be in there at all! They should all be receiving lumps of coal. Or perhaps the problem is that they already have too much coal?

Speaking of coal, keeping 1.5°C alive means a fair phase-out of all fossil fuels. Even in the most conservative scenarios modeled in the latest IEA World Energy Outlook, total fossil fuel use peaks in just a few years, and gas demand plateaus by the end of the decade.
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After decades of shifting deadlines and refusing to say the ‘F’ word, the pledge 39 countries and institutions made at COP26 to stop funding fossils abroad by the end of 2022 was a much-needed breath of fresh air. Signatories to this “Glasgow Statement” included Global North and Global South governments alike. It was the first international political commitment focused on ending public finance not just for coal, but also for oil and gas. Governments promised to instead ‘fully prioritize’ support for the clean energy transition.

Today at 13h15 at the UK pavilion, we will hear an update on signatories’ progress. Tomorrow at 15h00 in the Memphis room civil society and others will highlight key next steps. If signatories make good on their pledge, this will directly shift at least USD 28 billion a year out of fossil fuels and into renewables. And as we have seen with coal finance agreements, this initial pact could create a domino effect — making finance free of oil and gas the norm rather than the exception.

But for more fossil dominoes to fall, we first need governments to keep this promise. Of the 16 signatories that have major international public finance for energy, six have published policies that are aligned or nearly aligned with the Glasgow Statement (UK, Denmark, European Investment Bank, France, Finland, Sweden).
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As the sun rises above Egypt on Energy Day at COP27, let’s consider our host country’s proud symbol: the mysterious Sphinx, who devoured all those who failed to solve its riddle.

Esteemed delegates, like the Sphinx, ECO has a riddle for you today. Get it right and unveil the secret to a clean and just energy transition. But answer wrong, and lose yet another chance to follow promises with real action.

Here’s the riddle: Which continent has the world’s highest solar energy potential, and yet is home to 600 million people living without access to electricity? Which continent is highly vulnerable to climate impacts, but is seeing more foreign money flowing into fossil fuels than supporting climate action?

Give up? ECO is here to help those confused (looking at you, esteemed rich countries’ delegates). The answer: Africa.

So far at COP27, ECO has heard two different versions of the story of Africa’s energy future. In one version, some African countries are turning to 100% renewable energy, as business and civil society promote real solutions to energy access and poverty. In another, European countries are frantically negotiating new deals for African oil and gas, and finding willing partners in some African governments, ready to drill in the name of economic development.
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Okay ECOsters! Let’s play tic-tac-toe! Three x’s terminates the fossil fuel era and wins the COP!! COP26 made history by getting fossil fuels in a UNFCCC conference cover decision for the first time (lobbyists say booo). But it did not go far enough. When ECO says phase out, ECO means phase out of ALL fossil fuels. x- oil x- coal x- gas! Keep them in the ground.

This is why ECO welcomes India who asked for the phase out of all fossil fuels to be included in the cover decision. ECO also welcomes the similar strong language against fossils today and on Saturday from the EU, Colombia, the UK, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Spain. ECO wants to see the equitable phase out of coal, oil, and gas, ensuring a just transition for all workers and communities across the world. All countries must agree in the cover decision to call for the phase out of all fossil fuels, with rich countries phasing out first and fastest whilst providing their fair and equitable share of finance!

But ECO is confused. Because ECO heard India, the EU, and others all calling loud and clear for a call to phase out (or at least phase down) fossil fuels in the cover decision, but the Presidency’s summary of bullet points for what could be in the cover decision released last night seems to have accidentally missed this.
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ECO is perplexed. After a year’s workshops, the GlaSS work programme still hasn’t found its feet. Parties wasted precious time dithering and parroting each others’ interventions. Let ECO remind you that as we are negotiating here in Sharm-el-Sheikh, on African soil, people are dying due to climate impacts. ECO knows you did a lot of work this year and that you are excited for next year’s workshops. However, ECO would be remiss if it didn’t point out the importance of establishing the key building blocks of the Global Goal on Adaptation. The people and planet are relying on this process to deliver!!!

Let ECO show you a solution which is quite straightforward. COP27 must give a clear signal to the outside world on how we are moving forward towards meeting the overall objective of reducing vulnerabilities, enhancing adaptive capacity, and strengthening resilience as outlined in Article 7.1. ECO is seeing some good elements in the draft text that need to be strengthened further and Parties must see lessons from the Sustainable Development Goals and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. And we would be mad if we didn’t mention the central nature of local leadership, Indigenous knowledge and no one left behind alongside the best of science.
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