In about a month, the UN's international climate conference will open in Sharm el-Sheikh, where world leaders will gather to try and fight the climate crisis. What is expected to be in it? What opportunities does it hold? And what will Israel bring to it?
By Gideon Bacher, Angle - Science and Environment News Agency
In a few weeks, tens of thousands of participants from all over the world, including many heads of state, will meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, at the climate conference that will be held in the warm city. The conference, which will be held between November 18-6 and whose official name is COP 27 (Conference of the Parties), is the largest international event of the United Nations, and it attracts a wide range of participants from all sectors: governments, international organizations, civil society, academia and more. as inGlasgow Conference (COP 26) held last year, and at the conference where it was signed Paris Agreement In 2015 (COP 21), the conference will once again hold international negotiations designed to reduce the scope of greenhouse gas emissions that cause the climate crisis, and to prepare for it.
This year's convention was held against the backdrop of a steep increase in the number and severity of extreme weather events in the world - a phenomenon caused by as a result of the climate crisis: Huge floods in Pakistan that hurt tens of millions of people and destroyed or damaged more than a million homes, in difficult forms in Europe that severely damaged the flow of rivers such as the Rhine that are used for transportation and tourism, in extreme forms in China and the United States, Strong storms in Japan, hurricane Unprecedented in Puerto Rico, widespread famine in North-East Africa (and especially in Somalia) and more. In the background of all this are the gloomy reports of the UN and of climate researchers who warn of the expected worsening of the climate crisis - and the understanding that we are already in the midst of it.
The large number of participants in this year's conference and the worldwide attention it is receiving testify to the significant increase in the importance of dealing with the climate crisis in the world, and to the growing shift to dealing with it at the expense of the issues that routinely fill the complex world of international relations. The climate conferences are now the place where critical questions for the future of humanity are decided: how quickly will the human race reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, what will be the rate of transition to renewable energies in the world, how will the serious damage caused to countries vulnerable to the climate crisis be minimized, and more.
on the agenda
Every year the climate conference is held in a different geographical area. The host this year is, as mentioned, Egypt, as a representative of the African countries. Naturally, Egypt wants to put the emphasis at the conference on the issues that are more important to the countries of this continent: according to developing countries, the rich countries must compensate them for the climate damage caused by the greenhouse gas emissions of the developed countries, and help them financially so that they can deal with the climate crisis. Therefore, these two issues are expected to be central to the agenda.
Other topics on the agenda of the conference are expected to be the definition of a global goal for adapting to the climate crisis. This area includes, among other things, establishing guiding principles according to which the countries of the world will structure their national plans for adapting and building resilience to the climate crisis, and a number of global goals for raising the resilience the global crisis.
An opportunity to create collaborations
This year, Israel is preparing for the climate conference in a significant way, which is a significant step up in its international involvement in the global climate discourse. The Israeli delegation is expected to be larger than ever and intersectoral: it will include representatives from the government, civil society, the private sector, academia and more. For the first time in the history of its participation in climate conferences, Israel is setting up a national pavilion where Israeli climate innovation will be presented to conference attendees, with the aim of sharing with them practical solutions for reducing emissions and adapting to the climate crisis developed in Israel. Among other things, technologies and capabilities from the fields of water, agriculture, weather forecasting, renewable energies, nature-based solutions (such as restoration of natural systems and protection of forests) and more will be presented. The place and contribution of Civil society and of the academy, as developing many practical solutions to deal with the climate crisis.
The Israeli pavilion will also be a focal point for creating regional and international collaborations, and dozens of events are planned for it aimed at creating long-term processes of collaboration and launching new joint initiatives. These are events, many of which include both Israeli intersectoral cooperation, between the government, civil society, academia and the private sector, as well as cooperation with entities from the Middle East and the world. In particular, strengthening ties with partners in the Middle East can allow us to build regional climate resilience, which is so necessary for us and our neighbors.
We are at the heart of preparations for the climate conference in Egypt, and at the same time, our eyes are also on the next climate conference, COP 28, which will also be held not so far from here - in the United Arab Emirates. These two conferences provide us with a period that we must make good use of, a real opportunity to promote intensive regional and international climate activity.
Ambassador Gideon Bacher is the special envoy for climate change and sustainability at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
