Keep climate promises, say Quakers
'COP27 followed a year of extreme weather, from Pakistan where floods affected thirty-three million people, to East Africa where one person is likely dying every thirty-six seconds, due to drought.'
The announcement of a new loss and damage fund at COP27 marked ‘a moment of extraordinary significance for climate justice’, Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has said, but the UK government must take urgent action on oil and gas to limit further impacts.
Quakers, who have been working with other faiths on loss and damage for over two years, welcomed the decision, but said it was crucial that the fund was implemented quickly.
Emissions already in the atmosphere mean that further heating and associated loss and damage are unavoidable, but governments must ensure that fossil fuels stay in ground to minimise the problem, they added.
COP27 followed a year of extreme weather, from Pakistan where floods affected thirty-three million people, to East Africa where one person is likely dying every thirty-six seconds, due to drought.
BYM pointed out that these costs are dwarfed by the billions the fossil fuel industry receives in subsidies and makes in profit.
Olivia Hanks, climate justice lead for BYM, said the announcement was ‘a momentous achievement’ but ‘the lack of progress on phasing out fossil fuels is deeply alarming. The UK needs to put an end to all further oil and gas extraction. Until we end the fossil fuel era, further heating of the planet is inevitable, and the costs of loss and damage will only increase.’
In a joint briefing, BYM and Oxfam asked parliamentarians to urge the government to adopt a fund that is new and additional to existing commitments. Finance should be grants-based, so climate-vulnerable countries don’t pay for a crisis they haven’t caused.They also called for licences for North Sea oil and gas exploration to be revoked; and to scrap plans for a coal mine in Cumbria; and roll out a just transition to renewables. The government should also explore ‘innovative sources of loss and damage finance, such as repurposing harmful subsidies, a climate damages tax, or an international levy on flights’, they added.
The briefing was shared with ‘Peers for the Planet’ ahead of a debate on COP27 in the House of Lords, and to key MPs ahead of an urgent question on COP27 in the House of Commons.
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