Greece, for the first time, had a sustained and intense institutional presence as the leadership of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, as well as the heads of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, participated in the discussions.
The dramatic environmental, social and economic consequences of the climate crisis – the deadly floods in Pakistan, the devastating drought in East Africa, the risk of even entire islands disappearing from rising sea levels in the Pacific, wildfires and the transformation of the Mediterranean in a “hot spot” of the climate crisis, the depletion of natural resources and the disappearance of a significant part of biodiversity – did not seem to have sufficiently moved the leaders of the states participating in the UN Climate Summit, COP27 held in Egypt. There were not a few of them, who spoke of a retreat and a waste of time. Among the positives can be counted the fact that our country, for the first time, had a permanent and strong institutional presence, as in the discussions, in addition to the prime minister himself, the leadership of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, as well as the head of the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, showing that Greece’s commitment to achieving climate neutrality, but also to co-shaping international climate policy, remains strong.
The atmosphere is heavy
Confirming the bittersweet feeling left by COP 27 for its meager results, speaking to APE-MPE, the Secretary General of Natural Environment of the Ministry of Natural Environment, Petros Varelidis, having represented our country throughout the Synod, stated: “The truth is that in the ranks of EU officials there is a pervasive sense of disillusionment. Obviously, we are not where we would like to be. In order to achieve containment of the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, by 2030 we will have to reduce greenhouse gases by 43% compared to 2019. Today, the sum of commitments of the countries reaches only 0.3%. This is a huge discrepancy, which cannot be bridged without the much more substantial participation of all countries in the effort to reduce emissions.”
However, according to Mr. Varelidis, “the decisions of the COP must be evaluated in the context of the United Nations, where 200 countries with completely different characteristics, problems and priorities must unanimously agree. If we think about the difficulty in getting 27 countries with similar cultural, social and economic characteristics to agree within the framework of the EU, we immediately realize the difficulty of the undertaking. In every negotiation there must be realistic expectations and goals, based on real data and balances and not based on emotions.”
Therefore, as he said, “the cold assessment of the results of COP27, is that it probably went better than we expected and from how it seemed to be developing up to the penultimate day (17/11), given that there were very low expectations. Besides, let’s not forget that the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) is repeated every year and has many interim meetings, permanent working groups, etc.. It is, in other words, a continuous negotiation. It takes patience and commitment to the goal.”
Regarding the progress of the meeting, the secretary-general said: “The debate always has two main axes: increasing ambition for greater emission reductions and increasing public and private climate assistance (financing and transfer of know-how) from the ‘rich’ to the “poor” countries”.
The goals of Greece and the results of the session
“The objectives of the EU and likewise of Greece in the UNFCCC, are firmly, on the one hand, to increase the ambition of all other countries, developed and non-developed, and, on the other hand, to ensure adequate and targeted funding, with an increase in the countries that contribute financially according to today’s data (and not to those of 1992 when the first climate negotiations began) to the countries that really need it, i.e. the least developed and those facing greater problems from climate change, on terms that ensure the proper use of available resources”.
According to the official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “As far as the first objective is concerned, there was no substantial change. The request for their reinforcement remains and this is reflected in the decisions of the COP. Whether countries will increase their emissions reduction commitments will be seen in the coming months. The fact that it took an effort on the part of the EU to maintain the same formalities as last year certainly does not bode well for positive developments.”
On the issue of financing, which was the focus of COP27, “the creation of a Fund to cover ‘losses and damages’ from the effects of climate change, which does not allow for the possibility of claiming compensation and focuses on the most vulnerable countries, while it does not seem to include other countries that are currently benefiting (such as Turkey which, for example, in 2019 received 3.1 billion dollars in climate aid) is judged as a positive development. But it remains unclear which countries will contribute to the financing, as well as the rules of operation of the Fund, since the details will be determined by a special committee and agreed upon at the next COP”.
On individual issues, Mr. Varelidis expressed his satisfaction with the inclusion in the main decision of petitions: a) on waters, after all Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis coordinated a relevant debate organized by Egypt, b) on cultural monuments, given the Greek initiative to the effects of climate change on monuments and c) the role of the oceans and the sea, given that Greece has undertaken the organization of the 11th Oceans Summit to be held in 2024 and participated in a related parallel event organized by the USA.
After all, the goal was for the country to have an active presence throughout the COP, both with the participation of the prime minister in a series of parallel events, and the organization of a parallel event for the decarbonization of the islands with great success, as well as with the active participation of executives management in the negotiations, as far as possible in terms of human and financial resources.
The goal of carbonization
“In any case, the decarbonization of the economy will come through the application of green technologies such as renewable energy, electric mobility, etc., first from the most developed states and then, with their inevitable diffusion to the rest of the world, a transition that favors the current situation due to the increased cost of energy production from conventional fuels”.
“From the beginning, the government prioritized the green transition, achieving a huge increase in the participation of RES in the country’s energy mix and sealing the passage of the first climate law in Greece”, said Mr. Varelidis, emphasizing the said strategic choice of the our country.
The Background: “Write Erase” and “Hidden”
“We have already lost a lot of time,” said Frans Timmermans of the EU, as he expressed disappointment that there had been setbacks since the last COP in Glasgow.
Apart from the relative reluctance for courageous decisions of the traditionally big polluters, the fact that developing countries such as China, Turkey, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Arab Emirates hid themselves, once again, made a sad impression. behind the “historical responsibilities” of developed countries, unwilling to take the initiative for action at a time when their emissions are exploding, although the truth is that they are finding that the margins are closing for them too.
“The rich must pay.” This is their main argument, which is why the commitment was made to create – at some point in the future – the Fund for “losses and damages”, aimed at supporting “particularly vulnerable” poor countries, as the question of financing was raised at the center of talks and negotiations.
Greece, which perhaps for the first time had a sustained and intense presence at COP, with the presence of the Prime Minister himself, pressed within the EU for an increase in ambition and for an explicit reference to the gradual elimination of fossil fuels.
As for the background of the Conference, which ended two days late and after much “write erase”, as the original text took the international community back to 1992, reflecting the views of the G7 and China, the main issue for the developing , is still the funding from the developed. The main demand of the EU and the US is to increase climate ambition, expand the countries that give money and finance only those who need it most and meet some guarantee of good management and proper use of resources to deal with or adapt to climate change. crisis.
In fact, the EU is going to push for the Fund to finance those who really need it, namely very poor and small island states.
As it is estimated, in the future the splitting of the developing front is not easy, since many of them are highly dependent on China, due to the development projects that it carries out in their countries, without many questions about transparency, democracy, equality of cards etc.
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
