COP27: What to Expect at the Next United Nations Climate Change Conference

The 27th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties, or COP27, will kick off Sunday, November 6 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.  During the conference, negotiators from around the world will work to keep the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach, scale up action to build resilience to climate impacts, and align financing with the goals of the Paris Agreement.  As President Biden has said, we are in the “decisive decade” for tackling climate change. 

Over the years COPs have produced significant agreements to mitigate the climate crisis, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, and mobilize finance for ambitious climate action.  Last year at COP26, the most recent round of climate negotiations, countries and other stakeholders set forth a series of commitments that the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated would hold the Earth’s temperature increase to 1.8 degrees Celsius, if fully implemented.  Now we must build on those outcomes. 

COP27 represents another major opportunity to take urgent action.  The United States is calling on all countries to demonstrate and accelerate progress on existing commitments and initiatives in this critical decade, and to create new commitments and goals where needed.  In particular, the United States will advocate for raising climate ambition, accelerating climate adaptation, and aligning financial flows with the goals of the Paris Agreement.  The United States is also focused on making COP27 responsive to the needs and priorities of the African continent and to the needs of vulnerable developing countries and communities everywhere, including on climate adaptation and clean energy finance. 

For our part, the United States heads into COP27 able to show we are on track to meet our ambitious 1.5 degrees Celsius-aligned target and fully committed to working with all countries to tackle the climate crisis.  The Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress and signed by President Biden is the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history.  The IRA puts the United States on track to achieve President Biden’s ambitious target to cut U.S. emissions by 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and demonstrates that the United States will deliver on its climate commitments for years to come. The climate crisis requires everyone to join in an urgent, ambitious, and collective response to avoid the worst consequences of the crisis.  This means countries around the world must dramatically accelerate their ambition and implementation across mitigation, adaptation, and finance priorities.  We must also assist vulnerable countries and communities in their efforts to manage and adapt to climate impacts.  COP27 offers another opportunity for nations to come together in pursuit of these goals as we address a crisis that affects us all.