COP27 delegate diaries

Dr Rebecca Sarku will be promoting a new policy brief at COP27, focused on just agricultural transitions. Here, she shares some insights into her time at the conference in Sharm El Sheikh.

The morning has been marked by a number of protests in solidarity with the environment. Protesters are ‘angry’ about the number of fossil fuel lobbyists attending the COP.

News updates also indicate US President, Joe Biden will visit COP 27 today and is due to speak this afternoon.

Agricultural transformation is key in the UNFCCC process due to the sector’s role in contributing to climate change; while the sector is also a victim of extreme weather conditions experienced in various areas, especially, the global south. Parties working on the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture have been negotiating over the past 5 days on the draft of the Koronivia Decision (document), ahead of submission to the COP on Saturday. The negotiation process has been tense, with exchanges between China and the G77 group and the EU and its allies. On the 4th day the working group has not yet accepted the draft due to issues regarding semantics, which is of concern to the China and G77 group. A meeting is scheduled for this afternoon and is open to observers and we hope a decision on the acceptance of the draft document will be reached. The working group will then start discussions on the future of Koronivia.

Today the COP27 Presidency launched the Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda, a comprehensive, shared agenda to rally global action around 30 adaptation outcomes that are needed to address the adaptation gap and achieve a resilient world by 2030. Actions are divided across five ‘impact systems’ and cross-cutting themes that include:

• Food Security and Agriculture Systems,
• Water and   Nature Systems,
• Human Settlements Systems,
• Ocean and Coastal Systems,
• Infrastructure Systems
• Cross-cutting
• Crosscutting: Finance

Three financing partners of AFR100 (the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative) announced commitments at COP27 to anchor a $2 billion blended finance mechanism that will build local capacity and make grants and loans available for local communities and entrepreneurs restoring land in Africa. The AFR100 partnership is anchored by 32 African governments, local entrepreneurs and community groups, financiers, and technical support providers. The African Union Development Agency and WRI provide foundational support, alongside other partners.

World leaders at COP27

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen in a handshake