What happened in Egypt - and what's next

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Hi John,
COP27 ended with an agreement to set up an international loss and damage fund - a huge win for the global south! Now we must build on this momentum to make sure that the big polluters pay for it.

Although it barely seemed possible last week, COP27 ended in the early hours of Sunday morning with an agreement that a fund would be set up in the next 12 months to provide finance to countries facing the worst climate impacts.

This demand has been made for 30 years by countries in the global south. It is a huge win for the negotiators who stayed strong in the face of opposition, and for the social movements that stood in solidarity with them.

Of course, there is still a long road and many political battles ahead to ensure that the fund is set up and financed on an equitable basis. We also shouldn’t ignore the fact that in other areas, such as the phase out of fossil fuels and on carbon markets, COP27 was sorely lacking.

But at a time when the fossil fuel industry is pulling out all the stops to delay and deter the necessary global action taking place, every step towards climate justice is incredibly hard-won. We should take a moment to celebrate this historic progress on loss and damage.
Protests at COP27 (Credit: UNFCCC)


** What’s next?
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The establishment of a loss and damage fund was just the first step in our campaign. We still need to ensure the fund operates and is funded in a just way, and that it’s paid for by taxing the big polluters that have caused the climate crisis in the first place.

Early next year, there will be meetings to begin the process of deciding how the fund will work, including who will pay in and which countries will be eligible to receive funds.

Already at COP27 there were battles on these issues, with the EU calling for some countries in the global south to contribute, and language in the final text that narrowed the scope of recipients to only those who are “particularly vulnerable” to climate impacts.

The most pressing issue for us, however, is building public support for the UK to make a commitment of new and additional finance (not aid money) to the fund, in proportion with our historic carbon emissions, and to tax big polluters like BP and Shell to pay for it.

Negotiators and movements in the global south have pushed hard for this fund to be established - now it’s over to us to make sure our governments contribute to it. If we can show the same perseverance and unity that the global south has shown over the last fortnight, then we stand a chance.


** A long road
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Yet we still can’t be complacent about the other challenges COP27 has raised.

These talks were flooded by fossil fuel lobbyists fighting to defend the corporate power of the world’s biggest polluters. As a result, many of the key decisions on energy, net zero and on finance for adaptation and mitigation were either deferred or were even weaker than after Glasgow last year.

But the weekend’s events do show that, when we stand together in solidarity, we can push back against corporate power. Together, we can continue to do so in the months and years ahead.

In solidarity,
Daniel Willis
Climate justice campaigner, Global Justice Now

More info

1. COP27: There can be no compromise with catastrophe ([link removed]) , Global Justice Now press release, 20 November 2022.

2. People’s power wins at COP27 as loss and damage fund established ([link removed]) , Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice blog, 20 November 2022.

3. Revealed: Big Oil owes $8 trillion in climate damages ([link removed]) , Daniel Willis, Global Justice Now blog, 9 November 2022.
** Powerful multinational corporations are continuing to fuel and profit from the climate crisis.
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