As this is being published, climate leaders have finished the annual global meeting on Climate Change, the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Here are a few items that were discussed and may become areas of movement in the future.

Climate Finance was perhaps the most intensely discussed topic at COP 27. Physical effects of Climate Change are clearly occurring more often and affecting more parts of the world, especially in poorer, developing nations. Developing countries used the meeting to demand funding by industrialized nations for loss and damage from climate-related disasters and funding for adaptation projects to minimize future disasters. While the US and the European Union agreed to discuss this, they refused to agree on any set amount or mechanism for transferring funds. The Chair of the African Union requested $100 billion in Climate financing, but no overall commitment was made. However, several individual countries did pledge funds for loss and damage projects in developing nations, mainly in ones that they used to rule.

Green Transportation. The COP 27 meeting identified an underutilized area with great potential for success in bringing down GHG emissions: sustainable transportation. Implementing more low or zero-emission vehicles and green shipping corridors was a high-priority industry at COP 27. The US was a leader here, announcing success stories about the shipping sector. The US believes that full decarbonization of shipping can be achieved by 2050. The US also led a Collective 2030 Zero-Emissions Vehicle Goal at COP 27, encouraging a collective goal that 50% of vehicles on the road in 2030 be Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs).

Methane Emissions Reduction. Because methane is 21 times more potent as a greenhouse gas, compared to CO2, COP 27 encouraged implementation of methane emission reductions to meet temperature goals. The US, which already promised methane reductions of at least 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, went further at COP 27. The Biden Administration pledged stronger federal regulations pertaining to oil wells, the largest source of methane in the US, if not the world. Methane leaks from the million active or retired oil/gas wells is having a major impact on Climate Change. Most of the wells are not monitored for leaks. The new proposed federal legislation would do so. There was also discussion at COP 27 about levying an annual fee payable by each nation for total methane leaks within it, payable to the International Monetary Fund.

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