Journeying from Sharm-el-Sheikh (COP 27) to Dubai (COP 28): Debating the Developments
Climate change has emerged as one of the most serious challenges confronting humanity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted the urgency of stronger climate action, noting that prolonged greenhouse gas emissions have already increased global temperatures by approximately 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. Without rapid and substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5°C will become increasingly difficult.
Pakistan’s Standing in the IPCC Report
Climate change does not affect all countries equally. Communities and states that have contributed relatively little to global greenhouse gas emissions are often among those most exposed to climate-related disasters.
Pakistan contributes less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions but remains highly vulnerable to climate change. The devastating 2022 floods demonstrated this vulnerability, inundating large parts of the country, displacing millions of people, damaging homes and infrastructure, destroying agricultural land, and increasing the risk of poverty.
The disaster reinforced the principle of climate justice: countries with limited historical responsibility for global warming can nevertheless suffer disproportionately from its consequences.
Global Impacts of Climate Change
Extreme weather events have affected regions across the world, demonstrating that climate change is a genuinely global challenge.
International climate governance primarily revolves around three major agreements:
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 1992
Kyoto Protocol, 1997
Paris Agreement, 2015
Countries participating in these frameworks meet through the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to negotiate collective responses to climate change.
COP 27 was held in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6–20 November 2022, while COP 28 was scheduled for Dubai, UAE, from 30 November–12 December 2023.
Pakistan’s Role in COP 27
Pakistan played a particularly significant role at COP 27 as Chair of the Group of 77 and China (G-77 & China), representing the collective interests of developing countries.
Pakistan faced two major responsibilities: safeguarding its own national climate interests while simultaneously building consensus among developing countries.
A major achievement was the agreement to establish a dedicated Loss and Damage Fund for vulnerable developing countries suffering severe consequences of climate change.
This represented an important diplomatic success for developing countries and highlighted Pakistan’s role in international climate negotiations.
Key Aspects of the Climate Debate
Developing countries entered COP 27 with several major priorities, including:
Climate finance
Climate adaptation
Loss and damage financing
Operationalization of the Santiago Network
Climate mitigation
Global Stocktake
Technology development and transfer
Capacity building
The G-77 & China emphasized that meaningful progress needed to occur across these interconnected areas rather than concentrating disproportionately on mitigation.
Debating Climate Finance
Climate finance remains one of the most contentious aspects of international climate negotiations.
The UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance estimated that trillions of dollars would be required to meet the climate-related financial needs identified by developing countries through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Developed countries had previously committed to mobilizing $100 billion annually in climate finance by 2020. However, the commitment was not fulfilled within the promised timeframe, contributing to a significant trust deficit between developed and developing countries.
Climate finance negotiations are closely associated with the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC). Under this principle, all states share responsibility for environmental protection, but their obligations differ according to their historical contributions and respective capabilities.
Attention subsequently shifted toward establishing the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance for the post-2025 period.
Loss and Damage: Decoding the Severity of the Crisis
Loss and damage emerged as one of the defining issues at COP 27.
Climate-vulnerable developing countries argued that adaptation alone cannot address irreversible losses caused by increasingly severe floods, droughts, storms, and other climate-related disasters.
Pakistan, acting on behalf of the G-77 & China and drawing attention to its own devastating floods, played an important role in negotiations that culminated in the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund.
The decision represented an important breakthrough, although critical questions concerning the Fund’s financing and operation remained to be resolved.
Santiago Network on Loss and Damage
The Santiago Network on Loss and Damage, established at COP 25, was designed to provide technical assistance to developing countries particularly vulnerable to climate change.
COP 27 advanced its operationalization by establishing an Advisory Board and agreeing that the network would have a dedicated Secretariat.
The initiative is particularly significant for vulnerable developing countries because climate resilience requires not only financing but also technical expertise, institutional capacity, and access to appropriate technologies.
Debating Adaptation at COPs
Climate adaptation refers to adjustments in ecological, social, and economic systems designed to reduce vulnerability to existing or anticipated climate impacts.
COP 26 launched the Glasgow–Sharm el-Sheikh Work Programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA).
COP 27 subsequently advanced work toward establishing a framework capable of translating the Paris Agreement’s adaptation ambitions into measurable action.
The Global Goal on Adaptation therefore became an important component of the transition from COP 27 to COP 28.
Debating Mitigation at COPs
Mitigation focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting future global warming.
Scientific assessments emphasize the need for stronger mitigation alongside adaptation if the international community is to keep temperature increases well below 2°C while pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.
COP 26 established a work programme aimed at urgently scaling up mitigation ambition and implementation during the critical decade ahead. COP 27 subsequently finalized important elements of this programme.
The challenge remained balancing stronger mitigation commitments with the developmental needs and differentiated responsibilities of countries.
Global Stocktake
Article 14 of the Paris Agreement established the Global Stocktake (GST), conducted every five years to assess collective progress toward achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
The first Global Stocktake was designed to examine progress across mitigation, adaptation, climate finance, and related areas.
Its findings were expected to guide countries in strengthening subsequent Nationally Determined Contributions and identifying gaps between existing climate policies and the level of action required by climate science.
The transition from technical assessment toward political decision-making made the Global Stocktake one of the major issues heading into COP 28.
Conclusion
International climate negotiations are inherently gradual, with each COP building upon decisions made at previous conferences. COP 27 represented an important milestone, particularly through the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund and progress on adaptation, climate finance, the Santiago Network, and the Global Stocktake.
Pakistan’s leadership of the G-77 & China strengthened the collective negotiating position of developing countries and placed climate justice, loss and damage, and financial support at the centre of international discussions.
The journey from Sharm-el-Sheikh to Dubai therefore represented more than a transition between two climate conferences. It reflected the continuing struggle to translate global climate commitments into effective financing, adaptation, mitigation, institutional support, and equitable action for countries most vulnerable to climate change.
