From NPR on 11/20/22 On Climate Sumit

 The final agreement struck in Egypt says developing countries need "accelerated financial support" from wealthier nations. It calls for reforms at development banks like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund so that developing countries can get more climate funding without adding to their debts. And it says development banks, which were set up to give financial and technical aid to poorer countries, should do more to encourage private investment in low-income nations.

In all, the world needs to invest at least $4 trillion every year to create a low-carbon global economy, the final agreement says. Raising that sort of money will require a "transformation" of the entire financial system.

In the end, few countries submitted new plans to reduce their emissions and the final agreement didn't impose any firm deadlines for new commitments, though it reiterated the importance of the 1.5 degree goal.

Nations will be leaving Egypt knowing that goal is still not in reach. In a best case scenario, emissions are only expected to fall around 10% by 2030, according to a report from the United Nations Environment Programme. To keep warming to the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius, emissions would need to fall 45% by 2030.

Still, countries aren't keeping the promises that they've made so far. If emissions stay on their current course, they'll rise around 7% compared to 2020 levels, instead of falling.

One hundred and fifty countries have now signed a pledge to reduce methane pollution. Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas, which means it traps a lot of heat in the atmosphere, and it's emitted mostly from oil and gas operations, landfills and agriculture.

The "Loss and Damages" Fund

Deep-seated tensions flared between richer countries that have prospered by burning fossil fuels, and developing ones, which are bearing the brunt of climate-driven disasters. But in a historic move, countries agreed to establish a fund to support poorer countries already hit hardest by the impacts.

The final COP27 agreement sets up a timeline for countries to work out the details of a new fund over the next year. Chile's Environment Minister Maisi Rojas, who helped lead the group of negotiators who created the fund, called the agreement "historic."

But she had mixed feelings about the meeting overall. "Remember, we are talking about loss and damage because we failed to reduce emissions," she said after the marathon talks concluded early Sunday morning. "So it's not really a reason to celebrate."

The newly-created fund does not specify which countries will be required to contribute, though it mentions "expanding" the sources of funding, a nod to Europe's demand that other countries contribute as well.

And the deal also does not set a firm timeline for when the money must arrive. Many wealthy countries, including the U.S., have failed to follow through on billions of dollars of previously promised climate funding.

"It's worth noting that we have the fund, but we need money to make it worthwhile," said Mohamed Adow, executive director of Power Shift Africa, a policy and advocacy group working on climate action in Africa. "What we have is an empty bucket. Now we need to fill it so that support can flow to the most impacted people who are suffering right now at the hands of the climate crisis."

There is also a new plan to beef up weather forecasts and disaster warnings in places that don't have robust national weather services. And on the money front, there are concrete pledges to spend billions of dollars on clean energy in rapidly growing countries including Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal.

SOUORCE: NPR