Loss and damage issue keeps us Cop27 negotiators wrangling late into the night

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Cop27 had not even officially opened, and already we delegates found ourselves staying up all night wrangling over important issues. In this case, it was loss and damage – and there may be many more late nights to come on that issue.

At the official start of the conference of the parties to the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC), the conference must first of all achieve consensus on the agenda.

On Saturday, the night before the official start, we argued late into the night as consensus on what should be on the agenda was proving impossible to achieve. The discussions started at 3pm. By 9pm, the presidency had still not achieved consensus after several rounds of consultation. By that time, there was no food left – everywhere had shut – but fortunately there was still water for us to drink.

In the halls, the finishing touches were still being put to the stands, pavilions and delegation rooms. But even at close to midnight, the finishing touches to the agenda still looked far off.

Agreeing an agenda might sound minor, but it is the basis of discussions for the next fortnight. If crucial items are not on the agenda, they cannot form part of the official negotiations. And on Saturday night there was still no agreement on one of the most crucial issues that will come up at this conference: loss and damage.

Developing countries want to make progress on loss and damage at this Cop because we are suffering loss and damage now. We are suffering impacts from the climate crisis that are having a very serious effect on our people. Devastating floods, desperate droughts, storms that wreck our towns and villages – these are becoming more damaging and more frequent. We need help.

Developed countries have so far been reluctant to provide the help we need. But this needs to be addressed, and an agenda item for Cop27 discussions will allow those negotiations to take place at Sharm el-Sheikh.

One of the key issues is whether the agenda item should include the terms “liability” and “compensation”. The developed countries want a footnote that says the ideas of liability and compensation are excluded. This goes back to article 8 of the Paris agreement. In paragraph 51 of the decision text on the Paris agreement, it says liability and compensation are excluded from loss and damage.

But in the original treaty, the 1992 UNFCCC, they are not excluded. So we want to leave this open, to be freer in our discussions, by not having these exclusions referred to in the agenda item. Developed countries won’t agree.

It happens sometimes that there are different views about the agenda before a Cop, so this kind of delay to a consensus on an agenda has occurred previously. But already this feels like it is going to be a difficult Cop.

The Secret Negotiators are representatives of developing countries involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations, and who will be attending the Cop27 climate conference.