COP27: Join hands to combat global climate change

COP27 was held amid growing pressure to implement climate commitments, to combat global warming and to provide financial support to poor countries, that are suffering the most from climate change.

Speaking to the delegations prior to formal discussions, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, global temperatures continue to rise and the Earth is moving quickly to the tipping point where the climate will change irreversibly.

On the third working day of the COP27 Conference in Egypt (November 8), Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin rolled out three solutions on tackling climate change.

The COP27 conference is designed to deal with global warming and provide financial support to poor countries, who are suffering the most from climate change (Photo: AFP/VNA)

First, COP27 implements substantially the commitments made at COP26. Since COP26 in 2021 in Glasgow, there has been almost no significant progress in efforts to combat climate change and protect the environment. Therefore, COP27 should not end with statements, but substantially implement the commitments of developed countries to support developing countries, said Indonesian Vice President.

Second, all parties need to work together to promote efforts to combat global climate change and prevent global warming. Mr. Ma'ruf Amin said that all countries must contribute according to their capacity, with the spirit of burden sharing. More capable countries must help and empower other countries.

Third, Vice President Ma'ruf Amin affirmed that Indonesia will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to combat climate change including the proposal to extend the National Limited Contribution (ENCD) or Indonesia's commitment on more contributions to the Global Temperature Maintenance Program.

At the same time, Indonesia retains its emissions reduction target of 31.8% by capacity and 43.2% reduction from international support. This reduction is in line with the climate policies that Indonesia is implementing including conservation and restoration of nature, as well as realizing the net zero emissions target by 2070.

To secure funding for the energy transition, Indonesia has launched the National Platform for Energy Transition Mechanism. All these national efforts need to be relevant and internationally supported including creating an efficient and fair carbon market, investing in the energy transition and financing climate action.

Furthermore, as the 2022 G20 Chair, Indonesia will continue to promote green recovery and strong and inclusive climate action. Protecting the environment and combating climate change will continue to be one of Indonesia's priorities in 2023 when it takes over the position of ASEAN Chair.

Also on November 8, a report jointly developed by the British and Egyptian Governments was published at the COP27 conference. According to the report, developed countries, investors and multilateral development banks should contribute about USD 1 trillion. Meanwhile, public and private funds in the developing world should contribute the remaining amount - about USD 1.4 trillion.

In addition, developing and emerging countries, excluding China, will need an investment of about USD 2 trillion per year in the period from now to 2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deal with climate change impacts. The investments are aimed at adapting to the impacts of the climate crisis, such as taking protective measures and building stronger infrastructure including dykes and early warning systems.

For countries which suffer the most severe impacts of climate change, the money will help provide relief to at-risk populations, repair critical infrastructure and restore services such as healthcare and education in these countries.

This is one of the first reports to outline necessary investments in the three major areas covered at COP27: reduction on greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, adaptation to the impacts of climate change in the future and compensation for poor and vulnerable countries due to climate change damages.