The European Parliament today passed by large majority a resolution on the upcoming UN Climate Change Summit, which will take place from 6 to 18 November in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt.
The vote is a success for the climate movement and for the Left. Finally, Parliament has confirmed its support for setting up a loss and damage financing facility already by COP27. This is something we have been calling for for years.
📢Ahead of the UN #COP27 Climate Change Conference, MEPs call on the EU and all G20 nations to ramp up climate ambition and to establish loss and damage financing.
🙏💜Thanks to Kenyan climate activist and loss and damage expert Elizabeth Wathuti for being our guest tonight! pic.twitter.com/0aXSsoXIjo
— The Left in the European Parliament (@Left_EU) October 18, 2022
The Left scored an important victory with the successful adoption of amendments. Parliament now demands summit participants to refrain from using private jets and to travel by the least climate-damaging means of transport. One single private jet can emit two metric tons of CO2 in just one hour. With this, Parliament is now taking up the fact that heads of government flew to the previous climate summit in their private jets.
Another major win for the Left is the inclusion of their demand to end protection for fossil fuel investors in investment tribunals. Parliament thus reaffirms its position that a reform of the ECT is not sufficient and that the EU must withdraw from the treaty.
Regrettably, the EP voted against the encouragement of reporting of military emissions – really turning a blind eye to a massive emitting sector.
The upcoming UN Climate Change Summit is not only about emissions, it is about hope and justice. Climate justice will not be possible without redesigning the global financial architecture. The Left particularly stresses the question of financing climate action and addressing loss and damage in developing countries. “This is the time to reckon with the “white man’s burden” and the crimes of our colonial past and save the world while doing it”, MEP Petros Kokkalis said. The EU must act as an honest broker and lead the world in mobilizing trillions in new and additional public and private finance to provide adequate action on mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage.
The Left will take part in the climate summit. We fully support the call of climate activists, environmental and development organizations to kick big polluters out of COP27.
Click here to learn more about our upcoming event on COP27:
Climate Reparations Now! The case for EU support for loss and damage financing