Potential breakthrough at COP27 on the most difficult issue, a fund that compensates poor countries for damage from climate change could lead to an overall deal in the climate talks.

Aminath Shauna, Maldives’ environment minister, stated that there is an agreement regarding loss and damage. However, it still needs approval unanimously by a vote later in the day.

The draft proposal for a fund to “loss and damages”, as it is known in the United Nations world, calls for developed countries to “invite” them to contribute, although details are still unclear.

It is not clear if the fund is accountable to UN climate change bodies that convene the COP conferences or if it operates on its own.

Wael Aboulmagd who heads the Egyptian delegation said, “We made progress on an important outcome.”

Although the proposal was made after talks had been extended, it does not suggest that major emerging economies like China must contribute to the pot. This is a key demand of the United States and European Union.

Loss and Damage is the most important issue in this year’s UN Negotiations, which could lead to agreements on key topics as a result.

Today, Egypt released a second draft of the overarching political agreement from COP27. This is known as the “covertext”. It rejects India’s request for oil and natural gas to be phased out, instead relying on the previous year’s agreement to phase down coal power.

The wiggle room allowed for global temperatures to rise was disappointing for climate groups. This refers to both the dangerous 2C limit of warming and the much safer 1.5C that was discussed at COP26 in Glasgow last January.

Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia want to return to the 2C language in the Paris Agreement. However, many small, vulnerable islands, the EU and the US, are advocating for 1.5C.

Scientists have realized that the climate change threat is much more severe than they thought, especially at lower latitudes.

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“No deal is better than a bad deal”

Frans Timmermans, the EU’s climate chief, earlier stated that a “good choice is within reach” but that all parties will need to work hard to make it happen.

He warned, however: “We want to make a good decision. But it’s better not to make a decision than to make a poor decision.”

It is not unusual for COP summits to extend beyond the deadline into the final weekend. However, Egypt has been criticised for allowing the event to go so close to the wire despite praise for its diplomats’ skill and experience.

With hours remaining before the summit, the team responsible produced only the first draft of the draft deal Friday morning.

Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister, said that it was “fully involved” in the presidency.

He said that “the issue now rests on the will of parties”, who must “rise up to the occasion” and “take upon themselves the responsibility for finding areas of convergence”.

This huge geopolitical forum is a battle for the narrative and the outcomes. No country wants to be the one who takes the blame if something goes wrong.

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