Written By: Miranda Cuevas Morales
Edited By: Ada Collins
Topics long-awaited, finally on the table…
Even though discussion on the World Bank was not formally supposed to be on the agenda, climate leaders and participants of COP27 considered this institution important enough when proposing solutions to climate change. Both developing and developed countries closed a deal to establish a ‘loss and damage fund’ with the purpose of mitigating climate change disasters primarily in developing nations, a deal never reached at COP or any other climate conference (2). Currently, the details of where, when, and how this money will be raised are not finalized, although leaders from several countries are pressuring the World Bank to contribute to a great extent. Climate economist Nicholas Stern calculates that $2.4 trillion dollars a year will be needed to mitigate the climate disasters that will happen from 2030 onwards. He also believes the World Bank has the capacity to provide half of the required funds (1). More information on what measures are needed for climate adaptation and where funds are needed the most can be found in the UNEP’s 2022 Adaptation Gap Report.
Similarly, former US vice-president, Al Gore, called out the World Bank to cut all its fossil fuel investments and re-purpose them for climate protective investment all within a year. He also stated in an interview at COP27 for the Guardian that the president of the World Bank, David Malpass, has been a “climate denier” from the beginning of his career and has led the World Bank to continue funding fossil fuel projects even after the Paris Agreement. Al Gore publicly demanded an “urgent World Bank Reform” to provide the climate crisis with trillions of dollars and even went as far as saying that Malpass must be discharged from his position for this to happen (3).
Another event, seen for the first time ever at COP27, was the creation of a youth-led climate forum. This forum was given official recognition as a stakeholder in the matter by the ACE (Action for Climate Empowerment) action plan from the Paris Agreement. This recognition gives the youth-forum real potential to advocate internationally for climate action and pressure heads of government as there is now an important sector of society involved, one that represents a large percentage of the current population and 100% of our future (4).
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References:
1. “What Are the Key Outcomes of COP27 Climate Summit?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 Nov. 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/20/cop27-climate-summit-egypt-key-outcomes.
2. “COP27 Ends with Announcement of Historic Loss and Damage Fund.” UNEP, https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/cop27-ends-announcement-historic-loss-and-damage-fund#:~:text=COP27%20ends%20with%20announcement%20of%20historic%20loss%20and%20damage%20fund,-Photo%3A%20UNFCCC&text=In%20negotiations%20that%20went%20down,vulnerable%20to%20the%20climate%20crisis.
3. “Climate-Focused Reform of World Bank Could Be Done in a Year, Says Al Gore.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 14 Nov. 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/nov/14/climate-focused-reform-world-bank-could-be-done-year-al-gore.
4. Kiderlin, Sophie. “Young People Just Got a Louder Voice on Climate Change - and Could Soon Be Shaping Policy.” CNBC, CNBC, 28 Nov. 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/23/young-people-just-became-official-climate-policy-stakeholders-at-cop27.html.