Ministers return to Cop27 to push climate talks to conclusion

Government ministers will return to Egypt to take over climate talks at Cop27, giving diplomats the political backing they need to strike a credible deal that will help prevent catastrophic warming in the coming decades.

The United Nations talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh got off to a lackluster start, falling behind the pace of previous meetings and three days before their scheduled close on Friday.

But a slight detente in U.S.-China relations at the G20 meeting in Bali raised hopes that the world’s two biggest polluters could help strike a deal in Egypt.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry confirmed on Wednesday that he and Chinese envoy Xie Zhenhua resumed formal talks after being frozen by Beijing three months ago in retaliation for a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Asked what his goals were for the outcome of the meeting, Mr Kerry was cautious, saying: “We’ll have to wait and see, it’s a late start.”

Delegates have been debating whether to reaffirm the main goal of the 2015 Paris agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C and the rules countries set to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Officials in the developing world are urging rich nations to honor pledges to provide further financial aid to those struggling to combat global warming.

An important aspect of this may be paying for the “loss and damage” caused by climate change, which developed countries have long refused to pay for fear of being financially responsible for decades of carbon dioxide that has been pumped into the atmosphere.

But some rich countries have softened their stance and now admit that some form of payment is needed.

“Countries that are particularly affected are not themselves responsible for the CO2 emissions of industrial countries such as Germany and rightfully want to be protected from the losses caused by climate change,” German Foreign Minister Annalene Berbock said as she set off for Egypt. and damage.”

She acknowledged that negotiators had a “difficult” road ahead to reach a substantive deal.

Geopolitical tensions have been reflected in this year’s talks, with EU representatives pulling out of a speech by Russia’s special climate representative on Tuesday and a small group of Ukrainian and Polish activists briefly disrupting a Russian side event.

Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva received a more enthusiastic welcome at the talks in Egypt. He met Mr Kerry later on Tuesday and plans to hold talks with other leaders, even though he is not yet in office.

Brazil’s efforts to combat climate change are seen as crucial because its Amazon rainforest provides a huge carbon sink that stores emissions, and deforestation contributes to global warming.