As difficult it is to summarize the experience of attending the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) on Climate Change, it is harder still to decipher the various layers of events and negotiations happening in the conference initially. These layers, however, ultimately offer insights and knowledge on almost all aspects of climate change and provide an opportunity to interact with climate leaders and activists making a difference in their domains. While following the official stance of Pakistan at this year’s COP, especially in context of climate adaptation, it became apparent quite early that this year’s COP would be focused on ‘Loss and Damage’ after its successful inclusion in the agenda. It was understandable that loss and damage would be at the forefront of discussions, as G77 and China is being led by Pakistan this year and especially in wake of the climate change induced floods that affected 33 million people. Besides focusing on adaptation and loss and damage, there were several interesting events on diverse issues such as solid waste management, energy politics, multi-level action, and the capacity building of the redundant workforce, that proved insightful and informative.  

Assimilating all this new information led me to a few understandings. Firstly, the focus from the plenary level down to the civil society level within this COP seemed to be on private investment and mobilizing finances through global financial institutions. There is debate around the efficacy of going down this path as the UNFCCC primarily serves as a forum for bringing all the nations together to address climate change. But on the other hand, the developed world so far is falling short on its pledges and expectations in terms of the adaptation fund and now on loss and damage fund as well so far. The nexus of the public and private institutions does offer more transparency and hope in terms of finances, but is mired by restricting laws, structural and capacity issues, re-training redundant workforces and energy disparities between the global North and South.   

Secondly, in one of the side events, a Climate Expert panel on loss and damage explained how the priorities in addressing climate change need to be reversed. The first and foremost focus was proposed to be on loss and damage through rehabilitation and then on adaptation to enhance resilience and reducing damage/loss and lastly on mitigation to phase out fossil fuels. They explained that due to delays in mitigating global warming, new facets of climate change are emerging and taking precedence. Linking these exponential costs to the latest exploration in private climate finance sheds some light on the scale of the climate change issue and the inadequacies or lack of political support in multilateral approaches.  

Thirdly, for the first time in the COP, a Ministerial meeting on urbanization and climate change is to be held on the last day of the conference. This event is planned under the initiative by the Egypt Presidency know as Sustainable Urban Resilience for the next Generation (SURGe). Multilevel governance and local climate action in urban areas is an emerging theme in addressing issues of climate change, as cities not only contribute to climate change but can also be centers and models for sustainable development. With cities acting as hubs of technological and infrastructural innovation, the role of local governments and locally led adaptation and mitigation is becoming increasingly relevant. After the bottom-up approach of the Paris agreement, it is important to foster horizontal extensions with cities acting as focal points of climate action.  

 At COP27 it was exciting to witness the negotiations in person and understand the varying stances of different groups and countries. The African group led by South Africa appeared to be the most persistent and compelling negotiator in terms of informal negotiations on the adaptation fund. However, a very clear divide was also apparent in approaching the issues in terms of adaptation and loss and damage between the Global North and the Global South. The promotion of the global shield and the empowerment of the Santiago Network by different groups is one example of such disparity in approaches. As the COP27 is approaching its end this week, there is still hope for achieving some meaningful commitments and resolutions in support of those fighting a battle for survival in face of climate change. Witnessing and being a part of these conferences wherein decisions on the future of this planet and its inhabitants are made, does not only open new avenues of knowledge and insights personally but is an exercise in gratitude and humility as well.