Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Third Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, will participate today in the Egyptian city of Sharm el Sheikh in the opening session of the 27th UN World Climate Summit, COP27, which will address, among other issues, the energy transition in the midst of a supply crisis due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The organizers expect the participation of 30,000 people, including political leaders – including US President Joe Biden – representatives of governments and international organizations, academics, activists, businessmen and journalists. The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which began yesterday and will conclude on November 18, includes the celebration, between today and tomorrow, of a high-level summit with plenary meetings and round tables of a markedly political nature, followed by two weeks of technical and academic meetings.
Among the highlights of the Summit will inevitably be discussions on how and who will pay for the energy transition, an issue that may be bogged down by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the tension between the blocs. The meetings will also coincide with internal debates in the West, especially in the EU, on the price of energy, dependence on fossil fuels and the search for alternative energy sources to reduce, among other objectives, dependence on Russia.
In this regard, Teresa Ribera regretted, in statements to the EFE agency, the absence at COP27 not only of Russia (which was more than predictable) but of powers such as China and India, major emitters of greenhouse gases, “at a tense time geopolitically”. In any case, the Vice-President valued the participation of African and Latin American leaders and European leaders, because it is essential for the European Union “to explain itself and show its commitment to its values”.
Young university students and the Alliance against Droughts
Apart from the presence of Sánchez and Ribera in the more political meetings, the Spanish delegation at COP27 will include a dozen young university students, selected by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and by the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE) through the COP27 Climate Generation initiative. The young people from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the University of Navarra were selected after winning a competition for projects on climate change adaptation. One of the main challenges of the summit is, precisely, to advance in the work program of the Global Objective on Adaptation and in the issues associated with loss and damage.
Last Thursday, Pedro Sánchez received the young Spaniards who will participate in the Conference at the Moncloa Complex. “I am deeply convinced that the interests of young people must be consolidated as a primary reference in international negotiations on climate action,” he said. “For me and for my government, the climate emergency is a priority. I don’t have to convince you, but we have to join forces to persuade the whole of society that the ecological transition is not only necessary but an opportunity to progress as a country,” he added.
On the other hand, according to the Government, Spain will propose at COP27, together with Senegal, the creation of a new International Alliance for Drought Resilience with the mission of promoting innovation, technology transfer and resource mobilization. The objective, according to the Spanish Executive, is to “provide a more coordinated, collaborative and effective global response that helps build resilience to drought at local, regional and national levels” and that goes “beyond disaster response, to reduce the vulnerability of countries and communities to drought by promoting effective and efficient preparedness and adaptation measures.” Kenya joined this initiative during Pedro Sanchez’s recent official visit. The initiative is supported by the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and is open to new countries.
Forecasts estimate that, by 2050, droughts will affect more than three-quarters of the world’s population. Since 2000, the number of people affected by water scarcity has increased by 29% to 2.3 billion today. According to UNICEF, one in four children in the world will be affected by this phenomenon by 2040. In addition, Spain is currently facing its third driest year since records began 61 years ago.
