COP27: ‘Now is the time to transform words into action’
By the IFRC
(This joint statement by IFRC President Francesco Rocca and Secretary General Jagan Chapagain in response to the implementation plan generated by COP27 was released to the press yesterday. It has been edited slightly here for time references.)
While leaders have been meeting at COP27 for the past two weeks, families are dealing with the very real impacts of extreme weather – unable to wait for promises to transform into action.
Over the past two weeks, the IFRC’s risk-watch system put out alerts for some 14 floods in Africa, 18 in the Americas, 35 in Asia Pacific, five in the European Union and two in the MENA region.
During this period, four named tropical storms threatened destruction. Wildfires have ripped through communities in ten countries, affecting more than 10,000 hectares. And on Friday, at least three people died as the result of floods in Kigali, Rwanda and 11 in Venezuela.
In Ethiopia 185,000 people were displaced. Communities in Africa and Afghanistan continue to grapple with food insecurity, which are alarming compounding crises.
Loss and damage landed on the COP agenda for the first time, and world leaders have agreed to the establishment of new funding arrangements assisting developing nations, especially those most at risk from the adverse effects of climate change.
We welcome the finance pledges which have been made on loss and damage, which are historically important conversations and positive steps forward. These need to be complemented by new and additional finance that reaches the people and communities most at risk – and be predictable, adequate, and flexible in order to address climate-related crisis.
We are pleased to see the agreement to operationalize the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage to provide crucial technical assistance to reduce and respond to the impacts communities are already facing.
We welcome the focus on early-warning systems, which reflects realities of the climate crisis that the IFRC has been bringing to the fore for over two decades
However, we must raise our ambition to reduce emissions and this COP did not deliver on that front. Every increment of global warming matters to save lives and livelihoods, and is therefore critical to keep global temperatures below the 1.5°C degrees warming limit.
We welcome the focus on early-warning systems in the Sharm El-Sheikh implementation plan, which reflects realities at the front lines of the climate crisis that the IFRC has been bringing to the fore for over two decades.
Reducing risk and saving lives, especially in last-mile communities, is what our teams around the globe do every single day and it is heartening to see this work being expanded. To be most effective, early warnings must be followed by early action and these systems must be rooted in the communities – including those hardest to reach and families stuck in protracted crises.
As the humanitarian impacts of climate change keep growing, so too should the finance for adaptation, ensuring it reaches the most affected and most at-risk. As the legacy of the “implementation COP”, global investment needs to reach the local level.
It is time to turn words and commitments into action at the national level, to bring the agreement to life and make a real difference in the lives of people and communities most impacted by the climate crisis.
As the IFRC network, we are committed to scaling up local action to respond to the climate crisis, working with communities to build preparedness and resilience in face of rising risks and impacts.
Climate and environmental crises are a threat to humanity and we all have a role to play. Now we must look forward with focused determination and hope.
Our collective actions can inspire ambition we need to see in the world.
COP27 delegates at Saturday’s added negotiating session pore over language. Now is the time to turn words into action, the IFRC said Sunday, at the end of the latest round of UN climate talks. (Photo: UN)