We must listen to the climate demands of developing countries

The effects of global warming are already causing disasters and habitat changes for humans, animals and plants that cannot be reversed without enormous financial and technological resources. They are here. And they will deteriorate rapidly in the coming years and decades.

For decades, vulnerable populations have been forced to offer themselves a fair transition and fair compensation for the enormous damage and losses that the West’s emissions have caused in their communities. Although they themselves were less burdensome to the climate. The wealthiest part of the world’s debt is obvious – only the EU and the UK account for more than a fifth of all emissions since industrialisation.

Strongly opposed

It was in Glasgow last year that the issue really started to come to the table. A group of developing countries and China, representing six out of seven people on Earth, has called for a new financial facility to support people and communities affected by climate-related losses and damages. But the proposal was strongly opposed by the US and EU countries and watered down to an unrestricted dialogue forum.

We Greens in the EU Parliament have made it clear that this is absolutely the wrong way to go. If we are to succeed in collectively raising climate ambitions, everyone needs to be on board. In that scenario, resisting demands for climate justice creates deeper divides rather than building bridges.

Despite last year’s COP26 in Glasgow failing to agree on a common roadmap for reaching the 1.5 degree target, many countries are poised to raise their ambitions. All parties – 193 countries – pledged new, ambitious climate goals ahead of the next climate summit. But willingness to change has cooled, and only 19 of these countries have offered.

A reliable climate actor

For the third year in a row, I have the honor of being the Green Group’s chief negotiator for the resolution that the EU Parliament will take a position on today ahead of COP27. This resolution is Parliament’s mandate for COP27, and our call to EU and world leaders on what they want to achieve at the meeting. Here are our main requirements:

– We, the European Union, must take our responsibility. To be a credible climate actor and in solidarity with future generations, the EU must strengthen its climate action. EU countries must stick to what they promised at COP26 and deliver a higher climate target for 2030 than we have now, before COP27 starts.

– The EU should listen to the demands of developing countries. It is time for the EU to support the establishment of a financial facility for climate-related losses and damages. It should be clear that this is about additional funding, which should be designed as a grant so that developing countries do not become more indebted. This is the future UN. Climate must also become a constant item on the summit agenda.

It is time for world leaders to agree to a complete cessation of oil and gas production and a definitive end date for all direct and indirect fossil fuel subsidies.

– Solid financial efforts. We demand that EU members and developed countries such as the US take up their responsibility by already meeting the annual climate finance target of $100 billion by 2022, as well as compensation for previous years where the targets were not met.

– The final date for the fossil. It is time for world leaders to agree to a complete cessation of oil and gas production and a definitive end date for all direct and indirect fossil fuel subsidies. We would like to see a disarmament agreement on the extraction and production of fossil fuels and call on all member states and other parties to join beyond the oil and gas alliance.

– Respect for human rights. In the resolution, we also recall the importance of respecting human rights and call on the authorities of the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) and host country Egypt to ensure fair access and full participation of citizens and civil society at the Climate Summit.

Empty promises

COP27 should not be about repeating empty promises. Without decisive political action by world leaders, we will emit twice as much greenhouse gases by 2030 than the Paris Agreement allows. Without political change, the world today is headed for global warming of the order of 3 degrees, which will have absolutely devastating consequences for the people, animals and nature of our planet.

At this year’s climate summit, world leaders will deliver.

Pär HolmgrenMember of the European Parliament (MP) and member of the Environment Committee