COP 27: Where will the funds for mitigation and adaptation come from? | In Focus podcast

Ottmar Edenhofer speaks to us on the major themes of the 27th COP summit including the finance for mitigation and adaptation, and the impact of the Ukraine war, and how the issues of these themes are playing out in the conference.

The 27^th summit of the Conference of Parties (COP27) in Egypt comes on the back of extreme weather events that seem like a trailer of the climate catastrophe that awaits the planet: epic floods in Pakistan, heat waves in Europe, wildfires in Australia, to name a few. One theme has figured prominently so far: climate finance for mitigation and adaptation. Developing counties need about $2 trillion annually to cut their greenhouse emissions so that the world is on track to meet its net zero targets. But will the rich counties, who account for 1/8^th of the global population but half of all emissions, fulfill their moral responsibility? What happened to their promise to commit $100 billion annually from 2020?

The other big theme of COP 27 is the impact of the Ukraine war, and a turn to new fossil fuel projects in different parts of the world – apparently as a temporary measure but which, if executed, could get locked in for a longer term. How are these issues playing out in COP 27?

Guest: Prof. Ottmar Edenhofer, Director and Chief Economist of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and Director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

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