COP27 | edp.com

The climate crisis relieves no space to disregard any voices, especially of those who will have to live through the consequences of these decisions taken today. The sense of urgency that the youth actors are driving needs to reach those that can act on it on a personal level, which this platform will provide.

he economies, jobs, societies, even the way we perceive nature... in fact, our world culture is changing, and will continue to change, in response to the challenges that we see.

That is what the COP27 young and future generations table will give us: a glimpse of how our world will look. And how the life saving directives put into force today, will enable that tomorrow. And when I mean saving lives, I mean all life.

To keep people safe, and business afloat, every fraction of the degree of heating matters.

Science shows us the perils of going beyond 1,5º Celsius of global warming.

They grow in frequency of climate related extreme weather, such as heat waves, floods, droughts, showthe urgency of the climate crisis.

This is why governments and businesses must go all in on climate action to reduce emissions.

At COP27, in Egypt, at the minimum, countries must raise the ambition of their national targets, in line withhaving global emissions by 2030.

And, crucially, translate these targets into clear policies which deliver action and deliver emission cuts.

And businesses will be critical to this decarbonization effect. They have real world expertise, learnings andbest practices to share.

And are already setting the solutions that need policy support to be effective at scale.

Let's go all in for 2030, and all in for clean energy.There is no time to waste.

COP27, the United Nations Conference of the Parties, will take place from 6 to 18 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Humanity faces a real threat to its own existence.

We are not talking about saving planet Earth, because the planet will survive any catastrophe. We are talking, very simply, about preventing the planet from losing the set of conditions required for the existence of the human race.

This existential threat means we are all facing an emergency where we are all invited to participate actively, to accelerate the decarbonisation of the economies of all countries.

We have been warned by the world scientific community.

The latest warning, from a group of scientists led by researchers at the University of Oregon, is that 16 of the 35 vital signs of planet Earth, which are used to evaluate climate change, have reached new record levels.

An extremely serious red light is that only 24 of the 193 countries that have signed the Paris Agreement, approved at COP21 in 2015, have presented plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This year, in Sharm el-Sheikh, during COP27, it is urgent to adopt real measures to combat climate change and for the decarbonisation of the economies of all countries.

It falls to us, in our daily lives, in the choices we make and in the pressure we apply to national governments, to accelerate the decarbonisation of the world economy.

This year's COP27 is marked by the energy crisis in Europe and the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Some countries in Europe have reactivated their coal power plants, which had already been shut down, due to the lack of gas supplies from Russia.

It is clear that prospects are not the best. This will probably put at risk the agreements reached at previous summits, as far as decarbonisation is concerned.

For this reason it is very important that everyone redoubles their efforts to foster the energy transition and seek solutions in the current context, and persevere in the fight against climate change.

COP26 was a COP focused on climate, this is going to be a COP with a much more integrated vision - climate, nature, society. It was a COP focused on commitments, this will be a COP focused on delivery.

And so, a new paradigm, new ambitions, new context, a very, very critical context of a geostrategic, geopolitical crisis, of a global crisis, with worsening inflation, with Europe having an energy crisis. So the world context is a context of great concern.

This crisis must not be a blockage to the transformations that we need, this crisis has to be an opportunity, and it has to be seen as a chance, not for us to retreat but to move forward and to invest, as we are doing, in renewable energies, in the energy transition, in new technologies that have a more advantageous carbon footprint and that do not contribute or that avoid the so-called global warming.

I think that the great challenge is to make this happen, everything that these, all this change that is intended for a fair transition, an accelerated transition, a bet on new forms of energy, a reinvention of the model of society, I think that this is truly structural for all of us, isn't it, so it changes our lives.

Hello. My name is João Gonçalo Soutinho. I am a biologist and work in the integrated conservation of nature in territories highly influenced by humans.

This influence comes from us using territory for different purposes, whether it is for agriculture, for extracting products or even as land on which to live.

Even in these places, biodiversity occurs and exists and we must adapt and be able to think about how the ecosystem services that support the existence of biodiversity in these spaces can actually co-exist.

It is important that we think that, to extract a product and for it to grow in a healthy and sustainable way, it is necessary to have natural chains, the ecological relationships that always exist and that have been disappearing over the years, and that humans, in taking their daily decisions about managing the land, must increasingly have the ability to weigh these arguments and use the land more effectively, but also without destroying the relationships, which would ultimately diminish our quality of life and our ability to produce food.

When we talk about climate change, we usually associate it with the idea of reduced emissions and mitigation.

But now that we know that we have to honour our emission reduction commitments because we are not on target, that little brother that adaptation has always been has to grow up and has to make its place.

As one with those reduction targets set, we know that the damaging effects of climate change are likely to be felt for decades to come.

Therefore, COP27 needs to clearly define the mechanism that will determine the whole scope of adaptation, especially in terms of loss & damage.

We should come out of COP27 with clear ideas on how these financial resources are to be avoided so that especially the most underprivileged countries, which happen to be those most affected by climate change, can implement measures to limit the harmful effects of climate change.

I personally believe that if we respond at COP27 to this whole issue of financial provision and funding to deal with adaptation, the conference will be a real success.

Hello!

Why is it important for COP to address the theme of Adaptation, Agriculture and Food Systems?

There are growing concerns about feeding the world and the solutions have not been implemented with a sustained vision and one that has taken concerns about climate change into account.

The abusive use of fossil fuels and synthetic fertilisers has degraded our soils and natural resources.

COP27 will put the alternatives to agriculture and for the food system as whole on the table, which will consequently help with climate, biodiversity, health and other issues.

It is an opportunity to define strategies, adapted to the reality of each nation, and focus on solutions that are feasible, so that we can come back into balance with nature.

So, can we expect to leave the COP with decisions on this matter?

Favourable decisions that focus on these problems require innovation in the sector and implementation and expansion of regenerative agricultural practices.

More and better support, so as to improve the technical conditions without the need to expand the existing agricultural area, empowering not only our large cooperatives, but transversally with measures adapted to all types of actors.

In the global context in which we live, it is extremely important that the discussions at COP27 are increasingly integrated with social issues, above all for those groups that are most affected by climate change.

The issues connected to gender diversity have been shown to be an important focus for action for different reasons.

Firstly, because climate change disproportionately affects girls and women in situations of greater risk.

On the other hand, there is an enormous gap in the representation of women in decision-making spaces, particularly as it is they who will be so strongly affected.

The women participate in and in many cases lead actions addressing the climate crisis, particularly when we consider issues such as food security and conservation of traditional knowledge of biodiversity.

Accordingly, it is hoped that at this COP the mechanisms for including women in the construction of plans for combating the climate crisis will be strengthened and more women will be able to share their perspectives and to collaborate with this agenda.

The climate crisis is not only an environmental crisis.

The effects of the climate crisis also exacerbate social, political and economic tensions, in fragile, vulnerable and conflict environments.

They affect the health, well-being and security of people around the world, particularly some of the most vulnerable populations in these environments, such as girls and women.

A clear example of this are women in developing countries, countries that are also the most affected by natural disasters.

These women are the first vulnerable group, along with their households, to feel the effects of climate change, for example on their livelihoods and agriculture.

Inherently, gender equality, and more specifically women's socio-economic development, is also a way of acting on climate regeneration.

And it is for this very reason that EDP has assumed in its business plan the commitment to increase gender equality internally, tangible with the goal of reaching 30% of women in leadership positions in our workforce.

This COP27 is critical to recognise that it is time to have courage and act.

Firstly, to ensure gender equality in the definition, development and decision making, of measures that directly impact the lives of communities.

And secondly and lastly, by creating funding conditions, as well as defining gender sensitive budgets, which will consequently not only improve living conditions, but also fund projects of community utility.

One of the most important goals or responsibilities of the global community today, is to generate cheaper, cleaner and more local energy.

And it's not anymore the sole responsibility of governments and big companies, because today consumers have the means to contribute to this change of energy powerline.

With solar distributed generation, with local batteries, with electric vehicles, heat pumps, consumers have the leverage to accelerate the energy transition.

What can we do to accelerate this consciousness of the end consumers? What can we do to accelerate the energy transition through the families and through the small companies?

My name is João Pedro Gouveia. I am a researcher and guest lecturer at Nova University Lisbon.

The message I would like to share is that the political changes and the technological progress since the Paris Agreement of 2015 have reduced the projected temperature increase.

However, we still have a long way to go to limit average global warming to the one and a half degrees set in the Agreement.

To do so, we need to be more ambitious, to invest more in energy systems, on the supply and the demand sides, and in grids, to better integrate renewable energy, to look at existing regulations and improve them, creating opportunities to advance the much-needed energy revolution and not delay it further.

At the same time, we need to organise appropriate financing mechanisms for this transition.

It appears to me that in this transformation, which is so urgent due to the energy crisis and energy prices, but above all because of the climate crisis that must be addressed, it is important to pay attention to integrating all agents and consumers, understanding how to ensure that social inequality does not increase and how to organise a just transition, inclusive of all.

Decarbonization is the central piece of the energy transition. And as such, it is absolutely fundamental that is heavily addressed during COP, as it as been over the years.

I believe that a positive outcome from the COP this year, is to show continued commitment to climate action, and the Paris Agreement.

With countries announcing their intention to strengthen their contributions and respective targets, the current energy context only comes to reemphasize the need to accelerate renewables.

Obviously setting goals is easy, but it needs to be coupled with clear plans to achieve this.

Energy security as been a theme throughout, particularly in Europe.

And while it is important to have reliable and affordable energy, I hope we don't walk backwards from the important steps that we have been taking over the past couple of years.

It is critical to address biodiversity at the COP, because without biodiversity we will lose marine and land ecosystems, resulting in the biosphere becoming unbalanced, followed by the extinction of the human race.

What we should be able to expect and what I would like to see, in the context of the sea, as an example, is stricter laws and the enforcement of them, because it is not sustainable to continue with, for example, intensive fishing.

In addition, the creation of programmes should be encouraged for projects to create artificial reefs, or other solutions for bringing the marine ecosystem back into balance.

Public awareness also needs to be raised to enable people to choose products that are sustainable for the planet, and so that companies will offer these products and services.

As a biologist and as a citizen, I worry about climate change, and it upsets me knowing that we will continue to emit CO2 at levels far above the limits to which we have committed.

As a consequence, we have countries living with temperatures far below those that should be expected, while others are suffering from increasingly frequent and intense waves of heat.

We see floods, droughts, food shortages and lack of basic sanitary conditions, which lead to displacements of climate refugees.

Now, we know that when ecosystems operate well, they impact directly on society and for this reason it is urgent that we conserve our natural capital.

This is being affected by the destruction and fragmentation of the habitat, by the introduction of invasive species, and by the over-exploitation of resources, which will undeniably lead to a global extinction of the species that support these ecosystems.

It is time to act. We have to reinvent our food system. We have to drastically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. And we have to rethink the way in which we travel.

We cannot be held back by our worries. It is now or never.

Hi, my name is Christina Lock, and I work at EDP.

Why should COP27 be talking about innovation? Because when we look at climate change, innovation is at the heart of the energy transition.

As Bill Gates once said, and we relate to his comment here at EDP, we always overestimate the change that will occur on the next two years, and underestimate the change that will occur on the next ten.

If we consider the ambitious targets we have for our world until 2050, such as mitigating global warming to under 1,5º Celsius, and looking at how things are going currently, we need innovation to not only speed up, but scale up this process.

And COP 27 is the perfect form to enhance this message.

I would like to see a number of material assurances coming out of this year's COP.

Firstly, innovation should come out as one of the key pillars to enhance the energy transition, and contribute to climate change mitigation.

Secondly, bold commitments should be made to really ensure the compliance for the defined targets.

And finally, innovation can only be as effective as its environment, and so, global investment in technology, and incentives to promote new innovative business models, that can contribute to this world wide effort, are some of the commitments I would like to see coming out of COP27.

Thank you.