UN Climate Change Conference starts in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt next weekend – aim to boost implementation of Paris Agreement
Prime Minister Sanna Marin will represent Finland at the meeting of the Heads of State and Government on Monday 7 November, and during the ministerial week between 14 and 18 November the Finnish delegation will be led by Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo.
The Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change will meet in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on 6–18 November. The Climate Change Conference (COP 27) continues the work to implement the Paris Agreement.
The Conference will start with the Leaders’ Summit, where Finland will be represented by Prime Minister Sanna Marin. There, Prime Minister Marin will deliver Finland’s address to the Conference. As her programme permits, Prime Minister Marin will also attend high-level events on topics such as the just transition, climate and forests, and early warning systems. Her agenda includes bilateral meetings as well.
During the second week the Finnish delegation will be led by Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo. Minister of Social Affairs and Health Hanna Sarkkinen will also attend the events.
Ohisalo: More ambitious measures needed to keep the 1.5 degrees target within reach
The key aim of the Conference is to keep the 1.5 degree target attainable. With the actions that are in line with the countries’ current commitments, the global warming will be 2.4 to 2.6 degrees.
“We have again witnessed a year when temperatures have been record high in many parts of the world and emissions have kept growing. More ambitious action is needed fast to turn global emissions into a decrease and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Especially the world’ largest economies need to do more,” Minister Ohisalo says.
For Finland it is important that the implementation of the Paris Agreement progresses in all sub-sectors and that the decisions will be based on the most recent scientific research and, especially, the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC. Many countries have not yet updated their climate targets so that they would be sufficient. According to the UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report published last week, only 24 countries have updated their commitments during 2022. The impact of the updated commitments on global emissions by 2030 will be less than one per cent.
Besides emission reductions, the key themes of the Conference include climate change adaptation and climate finance. Loss and damage caused by climate change is a key priority for the Egyptian Presidency and the group of developing countries.
“The impacts of climate change are already evident all over the world. Floods in Pakistan, food crisis in Africa and record-breaking drought in Europe – none of the world’s economies is safe, but it is obvious that poor countries will be hit the hardest. The concerns of the most vulnerable countries are taken very seriously. It is important to reduce emissions fast - if we do not succeed in mitigating climate change, the costs of the climate crisis will rise exponentially,” Ohisalo says.
Focus shifts to implementing Paris Agreement
With the Conference in Egypt, the focus of the climate negotiations will shift even more to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
“The rest of the implementing rules of the Paris Agreement were completed last year. Now the key aim of the Conference is to make sure that the implementation progresses in all sub-sectors”, says Finland’s Chief Negotiator Marjo Nummelin.
Besides dealing with loss and damage, the negotiations on climate finance will be on how the annual target of USD 100 billion will be achieved next year and how to better mobilize support for climate change adaptation to poor countries. The aims of the EU and Finland include the launch of negotiations on how to make sure that the private money flows also support decarbonisation. Also on the agenda at the Conference will be ways to make the global goal on adaptation more concrete as well as advancing the mitigation work programme through which emission reductions could be accelerated in the coming years and best practices shared more systematically.
Side events bring together cities, companies, investors and NGOs to boost climate action
During the Climate Change Conference in Egypt, a large number of side events will be organised that will also promote the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The Conference is expected to attract more than 30,000 participants.
The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action will convene on Wednesday 9 November. The topics to be discussed include ways to incorporate climate issues more strongly into economic policy decision-making. Finland is one of the two co-chairs of the Coalition.
During the Conference Finland will organise an event on 17 November where the focus will be on public-private cooperation to achieve Finland’s carbon neutrality target 2035.
Minister of Social Affairs and Health Hanna Sarkkinen will speak at events that deal with e.g. the just transition, inclusion of persons with disabilities and role of women.
“To achieve carbon neutrality, everyone must have the opportunity to participate in the work. At this Conference I will discuss means to pursue an inclusive climate policy with persons working on equality issues and organisations for persons with disabilities. The role of social policy is to make it possible for everyone to stay involved,” Minister Sarkkinen says.
You can follow the Conference in Egypt and the work of Finland’s delegation on Twitter #ilmastoCOP27.
Inquiries
Lauri Voionmaa
Special Adviser to Prime Minister Sanna Marin
tel. +358 295 160 306
[email protected]
(in Sharm El-Sheikh 6–8 November)
Riikka Yliluoma
Special Adviser to Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo
tel. +358 50 414 1682
[email protected]
(in Sharm El-Sheikh 14–19 November)
Marjo Nummelin
Chief Negotiator for Climate Change
Ministry of the Environment
tel. +358 295 250 227
[email protected]
(in Sharm El-Sheikh 5–19 November)
Kaarle Kupiainen
Ministerial Adviser
Ministry of the Environment
tel. +358 295 250 232
[email protected]
(in Sharm El-Sheikh 5–19 November)
Outi Honkatukia
Head of the Climate Change Unit
Ministry of the Environment
tel. +358 50 341 1758
[email protected]
(in Sharm El-Sheikh 4–19 November)
Riikka Lamminmäki
Head of Communications
Ministry of the Environment
tel. +358 50 5762604
[email protected]
(requests for interviews with Minister Ohisalo and the negotiators during the Conference, in Sharm El-Sheikh 14–19 November)
Jiri Sironen
Special Adviser to Minister of Social Affairs and Health
tel. +358 40 450 9077
[email protected]
(in Sharm El-Sheikh 13–15 November)