COP 27

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Russia’s war in Ukraine had shown that switching to renewable energy is “a security policy imperative” as well as a forward-looking climate, environment and economic policy.

“We will stop using fossil fuels, no ifs or buts! There must not be a global renaissance of fossil fuels,” he said, though Germany has asked energy firms to delay the closure of coal plants as the Ukraine war disrupted energy supplies.

“Resolute deeds must follow our resolute promises towards climate protection,” he said.

Italy’s new right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy remained “strongly committed” to pursuing its decarbonisation pathway in line with the Paris Agreement.

“We intend to pursue a just transition to support the affected communities and leave no one behind,” she said.

French president Macron used his speech to the Cop27 conference to insist that the war in Ukraine would not cause France to backslide on commitments to tackle the climate crisis.

Over 100 world leaders attended the conference on Monday, greeted by António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, warning that the world was on a “highway to hell”. He called on rich and poor governments to make a “historic pact” to help each other through the climate crisis, instead of being at loggerheads.

“We are in the fight of our lives and we are losing … And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible. We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”

The world faced a stark choice over the next fortnight of talks: either developed and developing countries working together to make a “historic pact” that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and set the world on a low-carbon path – or failure, which would bring climate breakdown and catastrophe.

“We can sign a climate solidarity pact, or a collective suicide pact.”

The world had the tools it needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in clean energy and low-carbon technology.

“A window of opportunity remains open, but only a narrow shaft of light remains. The global climate fight will be won or lost in this crucial decade – on our watch. One thing is certain: those that give up are sure to lose.”

Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt, said that poor and vulnerable people around the world were already experiencing the effects of extreme weather. “The intensity and frequency of climate disasters have never been higher, in all four corners of the world, bringing wave after wave of suffering for billions of people. Is it not high time today to put an end to this suffering?”

Boris Johnson, the former UK prime minister, said he embodied “the spirit of Glasgow”, referring to the Cop26 conference hosted by the UK last year that produced an agreement to limit global temperatures to 1.5C.

Rishi Sunak, UK prime minister, refused to answer a question on whether the £11.6bn of UK overseas aid earmarked for climate finance in developing countries would be spent within the five-year timeframe originally promised. Some fear that he could stretch spending over a longer period.

Sunak also announced the extension of a global initiative to reverse deforestation by 2030, originally set up at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.

Sunak announced a major gas deal with the US after Cop27, with talks about an “energy security partnership” in their final stages. The US is planning to sell billions of cubic metres of liquefied natural gas to Britain over the coming year.

Cop27 was a fraught and difficult fortnight of negotiations. Countries are meeting in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, a worldwide energy and cost of living crisis, and rising global tensions.

The talks got off to a slow start, with negotiators spending over 40 hours over the weekend wrangling over what would be on the agenda. It was agreed that the vexed issue of “loss and damage”, which refers to the worst impacts of the climate crisis that are too severe for countries to adapt to – would be discussed.

Poor countries suffering loss and damage want a financial mechanism for access to funding when disasters such as hurricanes, floods and droughts strike, destroying infrastructure and social fabric. It is unlikely that these talks will provide a final settlement on loss and damage but countries are hoping for progress on ways of raising and disbursing finance.

Nabeel Munir, chief negotiator for the G77 plus China negotiating block, said loss and damage was one of the principal demands for almost all developing and climate vulnerable nations.

“This is the beginning of what will be a slow and painful process, for developed and developing countries, and it wasn’t easy to get it on the agenda, but it’s there and it’s a beginning, and we wanted that to happen at a Cop hosted by a developing country. It’s a big achievement that the other side is beginning to accept that what we’re saying is fair. Loss and damage is not charity, it’s climate justice.”

At most UN climate summits, activists and protesters play a key role. However, Egypt clamps down on dissent and its jails are full of political prisoners. Sisi’s government promised that climate activist voices will be heard but their activities have been curtailed, with protesters kept at a separate site and required to register in advance to be granted permission for even minor demonstrations.

Reparations row hits Cop27: UK ‘open to negotiations’ on hefty climate payments to poor nations, despite cuts at home

7 November 2022

The UK is supportive of negotiations over climate change payments to poorer countries.

By Kit Heren

The British government is “open to negotiations” on big payouts to developing countries to help with the effects of climate change – despite former PM Boris Johnson arguing that the UK would not have the money. Business secretary Grant Shapps said the UK was “supportive of discussions” on climate reparations, while Labour and the Scottish National Party gave their full-throated support “in the spirit of solidarity” with developing countries.

Countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh, hit by devastating floods, as well as low-lying islands, the Maldives and Vanuatu, reportedly want payments from rich countries to mitigate effects of climate change.

Developed countries like the UK resisted the concept of climate reparations in the past, fearing that the payments could be the start of a slippery slope -but government ‘ positions are thought to be changing in light of recent catastrophic events like the Pakistan flood. British negotiators backed a last-minute agreement to address “loss and damage” payments at the Cop27 summit, without including any concrete wording on figures. The UK will be part of the two-week negotiating process over the course of the two-week summit. The British team reportedly accepts that some payments will have to be made to cover the economic cost , which will reach around $1 trillion by 2050. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised £65.5 million for green technologies in developing countries. The UK is also committing £90 million for conservation in the Congo Basin rainforest and £65 million to support indigenous and local forest communities. The PM is committed to scaling up support for poor countries.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson played down the idea that the UK and other countries should pay reparations. He said no countries, including the UK, had the “financial resources” to pay reparations. He urged governments to “look to the future” with technological solutions instead.

Mr Sunak and chancellor Jeremy Hunt are considering filling a £60 billion budget black hole by slashing services and raising taxes including a raid on pension allowances. Mr Shapps said that the government is “supportive of discussions” at Cop27 about loss and damage payments.:

“We’re accepting the principle there’s a discussion to be had about this, and actually, in a sense, that’s been accepted all along. Today for example, the Prime Minister’s announcing over £65 million of assistance to developing countries to be able to produce energy in a sustainable way, there’s been a tacit acceptance.

We industrialised first and we appreciate the rest of the world needs to be able to bring themselves along as well. There is a big international discussion going on, that’s one of the things happening at Cop27 in Egypt and we’re supportive of discussions going on, that’s the British position.

Opposition parties explicitly urged countries like the UK to make payments. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there is an obligation on rich countries to help.

“I think this Cop is an opportunity for the global north and the global south to come together and have a proper, grown-up conversation about how we make progress. We’ve got to mitigate climate change, we’ve got to help countries adapt to the impacts of climate change, but as we’ve seen over the past year, not least in Pakistan, there are many parts of the world that are suffering loss and damage now that is irreversible and can’t be mitigated against. There is an obligation in the spirit of solidarity for the richer countries t to now make a big effort to help those dealing with the impacts address that.”

Labour’s Ed Miliband told the BBC: “This is about the fact that poorer countries facing massive effects of climate change. We see it all around the world. This is about poorer countries on the frontline of the climate crisis. Pakistan had these disastrous floods recently, 30 percent of the country underwater. This is about global solidarity, yes we have some historical responsibility, but this is about global solidarity and it’s absolutely part of our aid commitment. We don’t think the Government was right to cut the 0.7 percent(of national income for foreign aid) commitment. Absolutely it’s about supporting poorer countries. It’s morally right and it’s also in our self-interest too because if we don’t act and if we don’t help countries around the world, we’re going to end up with the problems that countries face coming back to us.”

A European leader urged rich countries including the UK to pay developing countries dealing with the effects of climate change. Asked if he supports wealthier nations paying reparations to developing countries to mitigate the effects of climate change

Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans said: “I think the first thing we need to do is to do what we’ve promised. And that is to reach the $100 billion yearly to help with adaptation and mitigation. The EU is doing its part, we could be doing more, but I can only convince my member states to do more, if other major countries also step up to the plate. And this applies to the UK, this applies to the US to Canada to Australia, they’re all not doing what they promised they would be doing. And if they could step up a bit at Sharm El-Sheik that would increase our credibility in the eyes of the developing world.”

Asked if the UK needs to step up and pay reparations, he said:

“Britain played an incredibly important role at Glasgow last year, which was a very successful COP. And one of the, I would say, the biggest diplomatic success the UK has had since Brexit. And that comes also with a big responsibility on the shoulders of the UK to follow through, and we will be on the same side, and we need to we need to fight this fight together.

“And if we do that, we can convince the Americans, the Australians, the Canadians, the Chinese, the Saudis, the Russians and all the others who need to pay up to pay up.”

U.N. climate talks in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, known as COP27, get underway this week, with many of the parties looking for concrete pledges to combat the damaging effects of climate change. It’s a trend that’s been seen since the 2015 Paris Agreement to curb warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, where progress is yet to be made despite many workshops, summits and conferences.

“Moving from negotiations and pledges to an era of implementation is a priority,” said COP27 President Sameh Shoukry, adding that now was the time to put the money on the table.

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide reached new record highs in 2021, while increasing temperatures, a loss of biodiversity and extreme weather events like floods and hurricanes are said to be growing in intensity.

It doesn’t help that the globe is dealing with an energy crisis at the same time that fossil fuel manufacturing usage is being outsourced to developing nations, where deregulation of environmental protections has been used to advance their economies. This can even be seen among countries that are powering the green revolution, like nickel smelting for EV batteries, with further criticism being levelled at the sustainable commitments of some of the world’s most profitable companies.

 

Chancellor’s tax changes threaten long-term investment and consumers’ energy security — industry group

World Oil Staff November 17, 2022(WO)

The UK’s offshore industry will be hit hard by the chancellor’s latest tax changes, which threaten to drive out investors, drive up imports and leave consumers increasingly exposed to global shortages, Offshore Energies UK warned.It was reacting to today’s budget in which Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, raised overall taxes on UK oil and gas production to 75%. The Treasury has also introduced a new 45% levy on electricity generators, including offshore wind, starting from January 2023.

OEUK said the tax changes would impact not just North Sea operators but the hundreds of other companies in their supply chains, operating in towns and cities across the UK. Many provide specialized services such as marine engineering, deep sea diving or subsea communications, and will face cutbacks or being driven abroad, if investment declines. Altogether, the industry supports nearly 200,000 UK jobs.

The offshore sector has long been the UK’s most highly taxed UK industry. It was paying 40% tax on oil and gas production even before the windfall tax was imposed in May. Since then, it has been paying 65%. The latest rise takes the overall tax rate to 75% from January.

It means that the total taken out of the UK industry between now and 2028 will amount to £80 billion, say Treasury documents, including £15 billion this fiscal year and £20 billion the year after.

Mr. Hunt also extended the duration of the windfall tax (technically known as the Energy Profits Levy) so that it will now end in March 2028 rather than December 2025. Crucially, he warned that it would remain in place even if oil and gas prices fall, as is widely expected. It means the UK offshore sector faces some of the world’s highest taxes.

Deirdre Michie, OEUK’s chief executive, said that consumers were suffering, and it was right for all sectors to play their part but added: “These tax changes will undermine one of the of the UK’s most important industries. The UK offshore industry generates jobs for 200,000 people plus billions of pounds in taxes. The oil and gas it produces buffers the nation against global shortages. These changes put all those benefits at risk.”

The UK gets three-quarters of its total energy from oil and gas: 24 million UK homes rely on gas boilers for heating; 1.5 million homes rely on heating oil; 42% of the nation’s electricity comes from gas-fired power stations; and 32 million UK vehicles are powered by petrol or diesel.

Such reliance on oil and gas means security of supply is essential. OEUK has long argued that the best way to protect the UK from global shortages is to produce as much of its needs as possible from its own waters. The UK cannot produce all its own oil and gas but what it does produce acts a vital buffer against global shortages.

The North Sea, Irish Sea and Atlantic waters north of Scotland, still contain enough oil and gas to power the nation for the decades needed to reach net zero – but those resources need a constant flow of investment to extract them.

The industry is participating in plans to invest £200 billion by 2030 across all energies, including the lower-carbon ones needed to drive the energy transition. But today’s budget, warned OEUK, means much of that investment could dry up. If it does then oil and gas production will plummet so fast that, by 2030, the UK could be forced to import up to 80% of its gas – double the current level.

Such tax changes and political turbulence also risk undermining the UK government’s plans to make the UK carbon neutral by 2050. OEUK has warned that the nation will see many changes of politicians and governments over that time – so ‘net zero’ will only happen if there is long-term agreement and consensus. Short term political battles and policy swings, like those of the last few months, will make that energy transition impossible.

The trade body, however, welcomed news that the government would undertake a long-term review of the long-term tax treatment of UK oil and gas production – something the sector has been seeking for months.Deirdre Michie, OEUK’s chief executive, said:

“These are tough times for consumers. They are being hit by surging global energy prices caused by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and by the economic fallout from political failures in the UK.

“When people face such widespread hardship its right for all sectors to play their part. Our members are doing that. The UK’s offshore industry has contributed £400 billion in taxes over the last five decades and was already due to pay about £15 billion more this year.

“However, there is a balance to be struck. We remain proud to pay our taxes, but this latest increase means UK offshore operators will be paying a total rate of 75%. This rate is so high that it threatens to drive investment out of the UK altogether. The extension to 2028 takes no account of the likelihood of prices falling in that time. It’s also worrying that we are increasing taxes on low-carbon electricity generation like offshore wind.

“But it’s not just the rate that is so damaging. It’s also the disruption and uncertainty generated by constant changes to our tax system.

“No industry can invest or plan without knowing what kinds of tax regime will be in place. We want to work with the government to build a long-term tax regime that will let us play a full role in the energy transition.

“Unlike politicians, energy companies think and invest in terms of decades – not election cycles. That approach means we have built a stable, strong and prosperous industry which has supported the nation for 50 years. We’re now planning for the next 50 years, and we want to work with our politicians to do the same.”

 

 

Ukraine a reason to act fast on climate change – Rishi Sunak

Climate and science reporter, BBC News

The war in Ukraine is a reason to act faster to tackle climate change, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has told the UN climate summit COP27.

“Climate and energy security go hand-in-hand,” he said in his first international appearance since taking office.

Leaders from 120 countries are meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to discuss next steps in curbing climate change.

Key topics are compensation and support for the most-affected countries.

“Putin’s abhorrent war in Ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change. They are a reason to act faster..

“We can bequeath our children a greener planet and a more prosperous future […] There really is room for hope.”

In a series of speeches, leaders urged rich countries to stay the course in stopping further climate change, despite the war in Ukraine and global financial problems. Nations on the front line of climate change laid out the stark impacts of higher temperatures, drought, and floods on people and the environment.

“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the summit.

His stark warning was echoed by former US vice-president and environmentalist Al Gore who said nations must “stop subsiding the culture of death” of fossil fuels.

In an energetic speech French President Emmanuel Macron urged world leaders to deliver climate justice.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also in Egypt and said countries should not “go weak and wobbly” on climate action.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said switching to renewable energy was “a security policy imperative”, while Italy’s new prime minister Giorgia Meloni said her country remained “strongly committed” to its climate goals.

US President Joe Biden is due to arrive at the summit on Friday, while John Kerry, his special envoy for the climate, is already in attendance.

Though Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg is staying away from the summit, after she accused the UN of “green-washing“, many other youth activists are in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Xiye Bastida, a 20-year-old activist from Mexico, is there to tell decision-makers that “nature must be protected”.

She told BBC News she’s pleased with progress so far in Egypt – including getting the words “loss and damage” on the agenda. The terms refer to money – as some form of compensation or reparations – for the effects of climate change on developing countries that did little to cause the problem.

But 24-year-old Mikaela Loach, from Scotland, said she’s worried leaders are not fully committed to climate action that prioritises justice or human rights.

“Not all climate solutions are good for people. It’s not just about cutting emissions, we must frame all our work about people and the world we are creating,” she told BBC News.

Barbados PM Mia Mottley spoke of “horror and the devastation wrecked upon this Earth” in the past year.

“Whether the apocalyptic floods in Pakistan, or the heatwaves from Europe to China, or indeed in the last few days in my own region, the devastation caused in Belize by tropical storm Lisa, or the torrential floods a few days ago in St Lucia. We don’t need to repeat it.”

The fact that the summit is taking place in Africa, a continent that is extremely vulnerable to climate change, was repeated through the day.

Kenyan President William Ruto said time is of the essence: “Further delay will make us busy spectators as calamity wipes out lives and livelihoods.”

Up to 700 million people in Africa will be displaced due to lack of water by 2030.

Leaders of developing countries which are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change include Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, where recent floods killed over 1,700 people.

Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, will speak on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States.

COP27 opened with a warning from the UN that our planet is “sending a distress signal“. A report by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization reveals that the past eight years were on track to be the warmest on record.

At last year’s summit in Glasgow a number of pledges were agreed:

1. to “phase down” the use of coal – one of the most polluting fossil fuels
2. to stop deforestation by 2030
3. to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030
4. to submit new climate action plans to the UN

Developing nations are demanding that previous commitments to finance are upheld.

The COP27 global climate summit in Egypt is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. More than 200 countries are attending the summit to discuss further measures to cut emissions and prepare for climate change, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.

 

 

COP27 summit in Egypt

https://unfccc.int/news/cop27-reaches-breakthrough-agreement-on-new-loss-and-damage-fund-for-vulnerable-countries

UK PM at COP27 7 November 2022
Rishi Sunak’s statement at the COP27 summit in Egypt.

From:
Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP

Published  7 November 2022
Location:
Egypt
Delivered on:
7 November 2022

(Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

When Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II addressed COP 26 last year, she reflected how “history has shown…  …that when nations come together in common cause, there is always room for hope.”

I believe we found room for hope in Glasgow.

With one last chance to create a plan that would limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees,

….we made the promises to keep that goal within reach.

And the question today is this: can we summon the collective will to deliver them?

I believe we can.

When we began our COP Presidency, just one third of the global economy was signed up to net zero…

…today it’s 90 per cent.

And for our part, the UK…

…which was the first major economy in the world to legislate for net zero….

…will fulfil our ambitious commitment to reduce emissions by at least 68 per cent by 2030.

And because there is no solution to climate change without protecting and restoring nature …

In Glasgow, more than 140 countries which are home to over 90 per cent of the world’s forests…

… made a historic promise to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by the end of this decade.

And just this afternoon I co-hosted the first meeting of the Forests and Climate Leaders’ Partnership to ensure this is delivered.

Central to all our efforts, is honouring our promises on climate finance.

I know that for many, finances are tough right now.

The pandemic all but broke the global economy.

And before coming here today…

…I spent last week working on the difficult decisions needed to ensure confidence and economic stability in my own country.

But I can tell you today…

….that the United Kingdom is delivering on our commitment of £11.6 billion.

And as part of this – we will now triple our funding on adaptation to £1.5 billion by 2025.

Let me tell you why.

First, I profoundly believe it is the right thing to do.

Listen to Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados, as she describes the existential threat posed by the ravages of climate change.

Or look at the devastating floods in Pakistan…

…where the area underwater is the same size as the whole United Kingdom.

When you see 33 million people displaced…

…with disease rife and spreading through the water…

…you know it is morally right to honour our promises.

But it is also economically right too.

Climate security goes hand in hand with energy security.

Putin’s abhorrent war in Ukraine and rising energy prices across the world are not a reason to go slow on climate change.

They are a reason to act faster.

Because diversifying our energy supplies by investing in renewables…

…is precisely the way to insure ourselves against the risks of energy dependency.

It is also a fantastic source of new jobs and growth.

In Glasgow, we began an approach globally…

….using aid funding to unlock billions of pounds of private finance for the development of new green infrastructure.

So instead of developing countries being unfairly burdened with the carbon debt of richer nations and somehow expected to forgo that same path to growth,

….we are helping those countries deliver their own fast track to clean growth.

And the UK is making further commitments to support this today …

….including by investing £65 million in a range of green investment projects in Kenya and in Egypt.

I’d like to pay tribute to President Sisi for his leadership in bringing us all together…

….and to thank the UK’s President of COP26, Alok Sharma…

…for his inspiring work to deliver on the Paris Agreement and Glasgow Climate Pact.

By honouring the promises we made in Glasgow….

….and by directing public and private finance towards the protection of our planet….

….we can turn our struggle against climate change into a global mission for new jobs and clean growth…

…and we can bequeath our children a greener planet and a more prosperous future.

That’s a legacy we could be proud of.

So as we come together once again in common cause today,

there really is room for hope.

Together, let us fulfil it.

Published 7 November 2022

 

 

Sunak gas deal with US

PM to announce ‘partnership’ to ship liquefied natural gas to allay blackout fears

By  Ben Riley-Smith, POLITICAL EDITOR ;
Rachel Millard and Emma Gatten,
ENVIRONMENT EDITOR, IN SHARM EL-SHEIKH
7 November 2022 • 9:37pm

Rishi Sunak is poised to announce a major gas deal with America after the Cop27 climate change summit, The Telegraph can disclose.

Talks about the “energy security partnership” are in their final stages, with the US planning to sell billions of cubic metres of liquefied natural gas to Britain over the coming year.

It comes after the war in Ukraine exacerbated energy shortages, prompting warnings of blackouts this winter.

Details of the deal can be disclosed after the Prime Minister used a visit to Cop27 in Egypt to urge world leaders to “honour” their promises to tackle climate change.

The UK’s willingness to import more fossil fuels while urging action to tackle climate change is likely to be attacked by Labour, but is now seen as essential to ensure the country’s energy security.

The deal will likely be welcomed by senior Tories, who raised concerns that the drive for net zero has been prioritised over mounting energy bills for households and the taxpayer.

US-UK energy deal imminent
Britain has been in advanced negotiations with countries around the world to solve the energy crisis fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the spring.

The Telegraph has spoken to half a dozen current and former government figures who are familiar with talks over the US-UK energy deal.

Liz Truss, the former prime minister, and Joe Biden, the US president, had personally discussed details of the agreement.

Downing Street insiders had hoped to announce the package on Oct 21, but that plan was scrapped as Ms Truss gave in to Tory pressure the day beforehand and resigned.

The deal has continued to be pursued by UK officials in Washington DC under Mr Sunak, with an announcement expected in the next week or two, although a date is yet to be decided.

While the specifics of the deal are not yet fully signed off, the package’s basic structure has remained consistent under both Ms Truss and Mr Sunak, according to those involved.

The US is set to promise to export billions of cubic metres of liquefied natural gas to the UK, sources have told this newspaper.

The UK side hopes the figure will be around 10 billion cubic metres, according to two UK sources. The whole of the European Union was promised 15 billion cubic metres by the US this spring.

But wrangling about the exact figure continues and it remains possible that a specific number will not be named in the public declaration.

The agreement will be hailed by London as proof that the UK is moving away from Russian-linked oil and gas imports in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.

It would also provide reassurance on UK energy supply. The National Grid has warned of blackouts this winter between 4pm and 7pm on very cold days if there are European supply problems.

It is unclear how much of the gas – which will be sold by US companies, rather than the US government – will be in the UK energy system for this winter.

A Whitehall source said the way the deal was currently constructed would see the gas provided “over the next year”. Much will depend on the specific terms agreed with private companies.

London has more freedom to strike bilateral energy deals with countries since leaving the EU at the start of last year.

The UK is also pursuing deals to import more liquefied natural gas from Norway and Qatar, with those agreements having the potential to dwarf the US deal in terms of volume.

Liquefied natural gas is used for cooking, generating electricity and heating homes, as well as manufacturing products such as fertilizer and medicine.

The US-UK agreement – which would be styled as a new “energy security partnership” or “initiative” – would be much wider than just gas, incorporating a drive on renewables.A pledge to work together to develop future nuclear power projects is currently included in the deal. UK figures hope for help in developing small modular nuclear reactors.

There are also expected to be declarations of joint work to improve energy efficiency, drive down consumption and invest in future renewable technologies.

The Biden administration would be expected to play up the green technology aspect of the deal, while the UK would be keen to stress the boost to UK energy supplies.

Both Washington and London are keen to show their ability to work together in the face of Russian aggression – with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, accused of weaponising energy exports to bring financial pain on Western nations who have opposed his Ukraine invasion.

One source involved in the talks this autumn said the deal on gas would be hailed as a “goodwill gesture” from the US to the UK.Gas is a major part of the UK’s energy mix, used to generate about 40 per cent of its electricity and heat about 85 per cent of homes.

Soaring gas prices due to cuts in Russian gas supplies to Europe have wreaked economic havoc, with governments forced to spend billions shielding consumers from the impact.

Most of the UK’s supply comes via pipes from Norway and the UK side of the North Sea, as well as some via pipes from Belgium and the Netherlands. However, shipments of liquefied natural gas from the US and elsewhere are increasingly important.

About 17 per cent of the UK’s gas came in the form of liquefied natural gas in 2021, mostly from Qatar, the US and Russia. Russian imports have dropped this year following its war on Ukraine, but more supplies have been coming including from the US and Peru.

On Monday, Mr Sunak told world leaders at Cop27 that the energy crisis meant the world should move faster on net zero.

The Prime Minister said: “We can bequeath our children a greener planet, and a more prosperous future. That’s a legacy we could be proud of.”

Downing Street insisted the UK was fulfilling its responsibility on climate finance, amid a growing row at the summit over funding to countries worst hit by climate change.The UN secretary-general told the summit that the issue of payments for the loss and damage inflicted on climate vulnerable nations could

“no longer be swept under the rug”.But Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, said that the UK could not afford to pay out “reparations” to developing countries, despite its historic role as a polluter.

“What we cannot do is make up for that in some  kind of reparations. We simply do not have the financial resources. No country could,” he said during an appearance in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Gas is bought into the UK by private companies such as Centrica, the owner of British Gas, which in August signed a £7 billion deal with US-based Delfin Midstream to buy liquefied natural gas from 2026.

The merits of any new deal between the UK and the US would depend on prices as well as the flexibility, with demand in any week always uncertain and weather dependent.

The US government will deploy $20bn to tackle methane emissions, aiming to significantly reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas (GHG) by 2030.

 

Turn promises into action

Nov 06 2022

Caribbean countries are among those that will be hardest hit if the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which began in Egypt yesterday, does not turn promises into action.

Financing for mitigation against the effects of climate change is critical to countries in the region that are battered by storms and hurricanes each year.

Trinidad and Tobago, which has often escaped the worst due to its low latitude positioning, was one of the countries in the region most affected countries by severe flooding following the passage of several systems this year. Perennial neglect by incompetent ministers in a ruthless regime that crashed the economy ruined thousands of lives through mismanagement of petroleum resources and agrioculture.

With increasing shifts in weather patterns, there is no way to predict what the region faces next year. Maintenance of infrastructure and support for farmers can prevent flooding.

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, a regional insurance programme from which T&T received US$5.84 million to help recover from the significant flooding is one of the region’s financing mechanisms.

Mitigation funding is sought if the region is to recover quickly from disasters without major economic setbacks.

Against this background, Caribbean leaders and environment and planning ministers are at COP27 with a call for urgent attention to be given to financing for the region’s sustainable development and climate-secure future.

Regional planning ministers noted that both public and private sectors are on the frontline of increasingly intense hurricanes, floods, longer periods of drought and intense heatwaves.

Caricom’s battle is for the survival of the region, economically and environmentally. What the Caribbean has been facing yearly highlights a growing need for increased investments in more resilient public transportation systems, emergency and disaster preparedness mechanisms, water and sanitation sectors, public health systems, agriculture, renewable energy, housing, land use, education and training, as well as social safety nets.

Domestic resources continue to be stretched to the limits as the region confronts a constant cycle of financing disaster recovery and rebuilding, even while seeking to develop low-carbon, climate-resilient pathways.

Many promises have been made to vulnerable countries through previous climate change meetings that are yet to materialise.

Thankfully, a key promise, the commitment by developed countries to achieve a US$100 billion floor per year by 2023 to assist developing nations to mitigate and adapt to climate change, is on track.

How those funds will be distributed is another matter altogether. The regional team has called for climate finance to be disbursed in addition to Official Development Assistance (ODA) and in the form of grants over loans, so as not to adversely impact the debt profile of low-income and vulnerable countries.

Caricom has been leading the charge to make the global development and climate finance architecture more responsive to the unprecedented needs of the most vulnerable.

At previous meetings, it has also been at the forefront of pioneering innovative approaches to public and private finance for building resilience and catalysing transformative climate action.

The slow-down of action at that last climate change conference remains a concern to the region but the move by developed countries towards finally remedying the gap in finance for addressing loss and damage is a good start.

This makes COP27’s delivery even more critical. The promises are great but the action to deliver them is urgent.

The aid-addicted, debt-ridden region abounding in resources, is stymied by corruption and crime, as murders approach 600 in TT, amid trafficking of weapons, drugs and people.

 

Equity markets

4 nov

Equity markets got what they wanted from the Fed but it was a two-edged sword that left the S&P 500 more than 2.5% at the end of the day Wednesday. The FOMC raised rates by 765 basis points as generally expected and gave a policy statement that sounded dovish at first read. The takeaway from the statement, however, is the FOMC is prepared to keep hiking rates at the current 75 basis point clip or near-to until the data changes and the data is not good.

 

 

War fallout, aid demands overshadow climate talks

FRANK JORDANS and SETH BORENSTEIN

(AP) —4 november

When world leaders, diplomats, campaigners and scientists descend on Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt next week for talks on tackling climate change, don’t expect them to part the Red Sea or other miracles that would make huge steps in curbing global warming.

Each year there are high hopes for the two-week United Nations climate gathering and, almost inevitably, disappointment when it doesn’t deliver another landmark pact like the one agreed 2015 in Paris.

But those were different days, marked by a spirit of cooperation between the world’s two biggest polluters — the United States and China — as well as a global realization that failure to reach an agreement would put humanity on a self-chosen track to oblivion.

This November the geopolitical tiles have shifted: a devastating war in Ukraine, skyrocketing energy and food prices, and growing enmity between the West on the one hand and Russia and China on the other make for difficult conditions at a gathering that requires cooperation and consensus.

“There’s a lot of high and low expectations around this Egypt COP, a lot of mix of ambition and fatalism,” said Avinash Persaud, special envoy for the Barbados prime minister.

Here’s what to look out for during the 27th Conference of the Parties, or COP27, from Nov. 6-18 and why it might still end up being a success.

SCIENCE WARNINGS

Scientists are more concerned about global warming than three decades ago, when governments first came together to discuss the problem because the pace of warming in the past decade is 33% faster than in the 1990s.

Greenhouse gas emissions are still rising, while tangible impacts from climate change are already being felt around the world.

But there is some progress. Before Paris, the world was heading for 4.5 degrees Celsius (8.1 Fahrenheit) of warming by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial times.

Recent forecasts have that down to 2.6 C (4.7 F), thanks to measures taken or firm commitments governments have already made. That’s far above the 1.5 C (2.7 F) limit countries agreed to seven years ago, however, and the time for keeping that target is fast running out.

Researchers say the world has already warmed by 1.2 C (2.2F) and capping temperatures at 1.5 C would require emissions to drop by 43% by the end of the decade, a highly ambitious goal. To get to the less ambitious 2 C (3.6 F) goal emissions have to fall 27%.

“The 1.5 degrees is in intensive care and the machines are shaking. So, it is in high danger. But it is still possible,”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “My objective in Egypt is to make sure that we gather enough political will to make this possibility really moving forward, to make the machines work … We’re getting close to moments where tipping points might, at a certain moment, make it irreversibly impossible to achieve. Let’s avoid it at all costs.”

ENERGY SCRAMBLE

Prices for oil, coal and natural gas have jumped since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some countries have responded by trying to tap new sources of fossil fuel.  This has raised concerns about governments backsliding on their commitments to cut emissions, including the agreement at last year’s climate talks to “phase down” the use of coal and sharply reduce the amount of methane — a powerful greenhouse gas — released into the atmosphere.

At the same time, rising fossil fuel prices have made renewable energy more competitive. Building solar and wind power plants remains more expensive for developing countries though. To help them cut their emissions quickly, rich nations are negotiating aid projects known as ‘just transition energy partnerships’, or JET-Ps, with several major emerging economies including Indonesia and India that could be finalized during or shortly after COP27.

CLIMATE FINANCE

One of the big sticking points in past negotiations concerned the financial support poor countries receive from rich nations to cope with climate change.

A deadline to provide $100 billion annually by 2020 was missed and now looks set to be achieved only next year. Future funding needs are likely to be in the trillions, not billions, said Mohamed Nasr, Egypt’s lead negotiator.

“The gap on finance is huge,” he said, noting that half the population of Africa doesn’t yet have access to electricity, much less clean energy.

Developed countries including the United States have also yet to make good on a pledge to double the amount they provide for adaptation, and make that half of the overall funding.

Discussions on climate finance also include the highly contentious issue of countries being compensated for the irreparable harm they’ve suffered as a result of global warming. Big polluters have strongly opposed demands for ‘loss and damage’ payments in the past, but observers say they’ve seen a softening of positions recently, including by the United States.

“I think that people are not expecting miracles in terms of a huge fund just miraculously appearing, but they are expecting a credible, meaningful pathway,” said Inger Andersen, head of the U.N. Environment Programme.

This would give countries that have done very little to cause the climate crisis but are on the front line of dealing with it “something to hold on to,” she said.

ACTIVIST VOICES

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is not coming to this year’s gathering and recently called the U.N. process a “scam.”

Other activists have also voiced frustration at the slow pace of negotiations, given the scale of the threat posed by climate change. But Harjeet Singh of Climate Action Network International said there is no other space where all countries are equal.

“Tuvalu theoretically is as powerful as the U.S. and Malawi as powerful as the European Union,” he said of the talks. “For us as civil society it’s also a place to call out these countries, to call their bluff, to put a spotlight on those polluters and raise our voices.”

University of Maryland social scientist Dana Fisher, who studies the environmental movement, said given Egypt’s authoritarian government and an escalation of in-your-face tactics by frustrated protestors, especially youth, she would not be surprised if there are clashes.

“There’s going to be a vanguard of them who are going to be willing to break the law and engage in probably what will start out as civil disobedience, peaceful civil disobedience,” Fisher said. “And they’re probably going to get beaten up. And it’s going to be very good for mobilizing sympathizers.”

Egypt has insisted that campaigners will have “full opportunity of participation, of activism, of demonstration, of voicing that opinion.”

EYE ON AFRICA

The gathering in Egypt will be the first time since 2016 that U.N. climate talks have taken place in Africa. Experts say it is important the continent gets more attention, given how heavily it is affected by rising temperatures.

“If we look at the 50 countries that are most vulnerable to climate change impacts and who have the least resilience, these are low income countries and most of them are in Africa,” said Preety Bhandari of the World Resources Institute. “So it is fortuitous that we are having this particular COP in Africa to highlight what the vulnerable countries are asking from the climate regime.”

Campaigners say that recognizing the challenges Africa faces and prioritizing the needs of vulnerable countries is essential for a successful outcome this year.

(Abounding in resources, free from hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes, Africa is doubling its population to 2.8 billion and can repatriate its Caricom diaspora to guarantee relief from natural disasters. The AU can electrify the continent with Sahara solar and develop natural resources to end hunger, disease, conflict, piracy, tyranny, misogyny, tribalism and migration.

Volcanoes contribute more GHG than fossils and sea level rises with subsidence and tsunamis. In Europe, coal was formed in tropical swamps and chalk was formed in warm seas Climate changed over 4 billion years and more people die from cold than from heat.)

Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment. Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

 

With another acquisition under its belt, Shell extends its UK gas portfolio

NOV 2, MELISA CAVCIC

UK-based energy giant Shell added a gas field located West of Shetland to its asset portfolio in a deal with Reabold Resources for the acquisition of the latter’s investee company, Corallian Energy Limited (CEL).

In May 2022, Reabold, which holds a 49.99 per cent interest in Corallian, entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire Corallian’s working interest in multiple licences, leaving Corallian with only one remaining licence – P2596 – which contains the Victory gas development.

In September 2022, Reabold, an AIM-listed oil and gas company, disclosed that Corallian’s board of directors agreed to sell the entire issued share capital of the firm to an oil and gas major for a gross consideration of £32 million. The company followed up on this announcement in October 2022 to reveal Shell as the oil major, which was in the process of acquiring its investee company, Corallian, and the Victory gas asset located West of Shetland.

Shell is buyer of UK gas asset

REABOLD ANNOUNCED THE COMPLETION OF THE SALE OF THE ENTIRE ISSUED SHARE CAPITAL OF CORALLIAN TO SHELL, EXPLAINING THAT CORALLIAN EXPECTS THE PAYMENT OF THE INITIAL GROSS CONSIDERATION OF £10 MILLION – APPROXIMATELY £3.2 MILLION NET TO REABOLD – TO BE MADE OVER THE COMING DAYS WHILE THE BALANCE OF THE TOTAL CONSIDERATION – £22 MILLION WHICH IS ABOUT £9.5 MILLION NET TO REABOLD – IS EXPECTED TO BE MADE IN 2023.

Stephen Williams, Co-CEO of Reabold, commented: “We are very pleased that we have been able to successfully sell the Victory project to Shell. This transaction validates Reabold’s strategy of creating value for shareholders by identifying, funding and monetising underappreciated, strategically important assets.”

Reabold intends to use the net proceeds received to advance the development of its existing assets, including the drilling of a horizontal well at West Newton, and assess potential further acquisition opportunities. The firm plans to distribute £4 million of excess cash to Reabold shareholders upon receipt of the £9.5 million, the mechanism of which will be determined upon consultation with its shareholders.

“We believe this transaction will result in the production of indigenous natural gas resources that will enhance the UK’s energy security position, and we are proud of Reabold’s role in progressing Victory to this point.”

Shell’s acquisition of the Victory gas development comes after the UK government disclosed its plans to accelerate various energy projects in late September, including this one. Located in block 207/1a, approximately 80 km NW of the Shetland Isles, and 17 km from the closest pipeline infrastructure, the Victory gas field is situated in the shallow water of 158 metres. Texaco discovered this field in 1977 and the environmental statement for its development was submitted in early July 2022.

Based on the existing plan for the field, it is expected to be developed via a single subsea well tied back via a new 16.2km, 14-inch pipeline to one of the hot tap tees installed in TotalEnergies’ existing Greater Laggan Area (GLA) network infrastructure. The first gas is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2024.

 

 

[Shell LNG trading division lost nearly $1B in Q3

Nov. 03, 2022 Carl Surran, SA News]

 

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Biden:  oil industry ‘war profiteering’ 

Third quarter bumper profits collide with a volatile US midterm election stew

3 November 2022
By Russell McCulley in London

Spectacular third-quarter energy company earnings and anxious US politics collided as President Joe Biden accused oil and gas companies of oppressing consumers with rising fuel costs.

Biden’s populist turn came days before the midterm elections that will determine if his Democratic party canretain its narrow majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives.

 

BpTT

BP and Shell, are the largest gas operators and shareholders in Atlantic LNG with Shell being the majority shareholder.

In its recent quarterly report. BP PLC revealed a huge rise in its global profits of $8.2bn (£7.1bn) between July and September, more than double its profit for the same period last year.

Days earlier Shell reported its second-highest quarterly profit on record. Global profits reached $9.5bn (£8.2bn) between July and September, compared to $4.2bn during the same period last year.

The success of the two energy supermajors prompted calls for the UK government to seek windfall taxes. BP is expected to pay $800m in UK windfall taxes this year. Shell will pay none due to large investments in the UK, which Shell claimed lead to minimal profits in the country.

The windfall tax was introduced by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in May when he was chancellor.

Shell revealed that it had paid no windfall tax in the UK because it had invested millions of pounds in that country but it is expected to start paying the levy next year.
BP expects to pay $2.5bn in tax on its North Sea business this year, which includes the windfall levy.

The company also plans to buy back an additional £2.5bn of its shares.

Oil and gas prices, which began increasing once COVID restrictions eased, accelerated after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, resulting in huge profits for energy companies.

 

Bumper profits: Is a windfall tax a good idea?

Nov. 01, 2022 Yoel Minkoff, SA News Editor

BP is the last of the Big Oil majors to report earnings and the quarterly report is again  controversial. Underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, came in at $8.2B in the third quarter, up from $3.3B recorded in the same period a year ago. Commodity prices have surged, with oil and gas prices fuelling inflation, in the aftermath of the pandemic and invasion of Ukraine.

In the crosshairs: “Oil companies’ record profits today are not because of doing something new or innovative. Their profits are a windfall of war, a windfall for the brutal conflict that’s ravaging Ukraine and hurting tens of millions of people around the globe. My team will work with Congress to look at these options that are available to us and others. It’s time for these companies to stop war profiteering, meet their responsibilities in this country and give the American people a break and still do very well,” President Biden said.

Talk of a windfall tax on energy producers first circulated among progressives but it is gaining traction in mainstream Democratic circles. A tax would disincentivize and reduce current production, leading to even higher prices. It would also hurt future hydrocarbon investment, weighed down by a regulatory environment that focuses on greener technologies and fails to address supply and demand imbalances.

The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act of 1980 was enacted under the Carter administration, and generated some $80B in gross revenues over the next eight years before being repealed by President Reagan. U.S. crude production declined by 8% over the period while Congress grew concerned that the tax increased dependence on imported oil.

Despite the “windfall” name, it was really an excise tax, that was determined by calculating the “difference between the market price of oil… and a statutory 1979 base price that was adjusted quarterly for inflation and state severance taxes.” Better examples may be seen from the “war profiteering” levy enacted during WWI and a similar excess profits tax adopted during WWII.

How much are we talking about? Profits among the Big Oil majors totalled nearly $60B last quarter, including U.S.-based Exxon Mobil (+191% Y/Y to $19.7B) and Chevron (+84% to $11.2B), Europe’s BP  (+145% to $8.2B), Shell (+129% to $9.5B), Eni (+161% to $3.7B) and TotalEnergies (+43% to $6.6B).

BP to pay $2.5 billion in North Sea taxes as profits surge
BP said it will pay $2.5 billion in 2022 for its UK North Sea business as it reports a surge in profits for Q3.

 

 

BP PLC strong Q3 show

Oct. 31, 2022 Preeti Singh, SA News Editor

During the quarter, headwinds afflicted the company in the USA, with a refinery being shut after a fire, threats from the government and lawsuits in 2 states.

• The $4.1B acquisition of Archaea Energy and a commitment to buybacks assuaged some investor concerns. In August, a dividend hike helped lift shares after a positive Q2 earnings result.
• Strong oil prices will continue to be a tailwind for BP in Q3, as it has for oil and gas sector peers Exxon Mobil and Chevron

• BP expects refining margins to remain high as well for Q3, offset partially by a continued high level of turnaround activity and elevated energy prices.
• Upstream production is expected to stay broadly flat due to planned maintenance activity in high margin regions. Uncertainty remains around the Ukraine conflict and consumer demand changes driven by inflationary pressures.
• The consensus EPS Estimate is $1.95 (+97.2% Y/Y) and the consensus Revenue Estimate is $60.93B (+68.4% Y/Y).
• Over the last 2 years, BP beat EPS estimates 88% of the time and beat revenue estimates 38% of the time.

BP Retail Gas Station. BP and British Petroleum is a global British oil and gas company headquartered in London.

 

UK: Centrica re-opens Rough storage facility

31 Oct 2022

Rough operational for Winter and increases UK’s storage capacity by 50%.

Centrica announced reopening of the Rough gas storage facility, having completed significant engineering upgrades over the summer and commissioning over early autumn.

The initial investment programme means the company has made its first injection of gas into the site in over 5 years and is in a position to store up to 30 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas for UK homes and businesses over winter 2022/23, boosting the UK’s energy resilience.

The work done so far means that Rough is operating at around 20% of its previous capacity this winter, immediately making it the UK’s largest gas storage site once again and adding 50% to the UK’s gas storage volume. Rough will help to balance the UK’s gas market, injecting gas into the facility when prices are low and putting that gas back into the UK’s gas network when demand is higher.

Centrica’s long-term aim is to turn the Rough gas field into the largest long duration energy storage facility in Europe, capable of storing both natural gas and hydrogen.

The UK has diverse gas supplies with connections with Norway and other European countries and a number of LNG import terminals. With some of the lowest levels of gas storage in Europe at 9 days, compared to Germany at 89 days, France at 103 days and the Netherlands at 123 days, flexibility in Rough allows cheaper gas to be stored ready for winter, helping to reduce or stabilise costs for UK energy consumers.

Rough is a strategic asset, capable of holding 10 days’ worth of UK gas supplies. Just over a year ago, the innumerate energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, dismissed concerns of MPs over rising gas prices and reliance on Russian imports. Unconvinced by calls for more domestic storage, he dismissed criticism of closure of Rough as a red herring. It was an ill omen- vudu economics created a £60 billion fiscal black hole and arrogant Anansi antics led to his ouster from the Treasury.

Centrica Group Chief Executive, Chris O’Shea, said ‘I’m delighted that we have managed to return Rough to storage operations for this winter following a substantial investment in engineering modifications. Our long-term aim remains to turn the Rough field into the world’s biggest methane and hydrogen storage facility, bolstering the UK’s energy security, delivering a net zero electricity system by 2035, decarbonising the UK’s industrial clusters, such as the Humber region by 2040, and helping the UK economy by returning to being a net exporter of energy.

‘In the short term we think Rough can help our energy system by storing natural gas when there is a surplus and producing this gas when the country needs it during cold snaps and peak demand. Rough is not a silver bullet for energy security, but it is a key part of a range of steps which can be taken to help the UK this winter.’

Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘While Britain already has secure and diverse energy supplies, this new government will leave no stone unturned when it comes to bolstering our energy security.

‘The reopening of the Rough gas storage facility ahead of the winter will further strengthen the UK’s energy resilience and make us less susceptible to Putin’s manipulation of global gas supplies.’

Source: Centrica

 

Cuba: Melbana Energy reaches TD at Zapato-1 exploration well onshore

31 Oct 2022

Highlights

1. Planned total depth of 3,152 mMD successfully reached at Zapato-1
2. Well to be suspended to allow time to integrate new data into sub surface model
3. Next operation is appraisal of the substantial oil reservoirs at Alameda-1
4. Melbana Energy advised that the Zapato-1 exploration well being drilled in its Block 9 PSC area onshore Cuba (Melbana 30%) successfully reached the target total depth of 3,152 mMD.
5. Wireline logging operations have been run and collected data is being analysed.

Drilling saw increased fracturing and a marked improvement in penetration rate in the last two hundred metres or so. Whilst this could be interpreted as a change in lithology, the well was still within the ophiolitic sequence at the target total depth and velocity data from the first logging run confirmed that the original reservoir target defined on seismic had been tested.

The well will now be suspended so that the subsurface interpretation may be reviewed once all the new data sets have been incorporated.

The rig is being demobilised and, upon completion of necessary maintenance and recertifications, will be sent back to the Alameda drill pad to commence appraisal of the significant volumes of moveable hydrocarbons encountered by the Alameda-1 well.

Melbana will provide more information on this appraisal program and the 2023 work program in due course, for which it is fully funded.

Chairman, Andrew Purcell, commented:

‘Congratulations to our drilling team for reaching our target total depth in challenging drilling conditions. The thickness of the ophiolite sequence was a major risk for this well and we’ve certainly encountered our share of it. Although it is tempting to keep going given the signs that we may be nearing the end of the ophiolites, we also are keen to get started on appraising the oil reservoirs encountered whilst drilling Alameda-1. The Zapato play type remains extremely significant but for now it’s time to stop exploring and start appraising.’

Source: Melbana Energy

 

Cuban oil well suspended as owners return to previous discovery

Zapato-1 well made it to total depth but did not reach the primary target

31 October 2022

Russell Searancke in Wellington

Total depth has been reached on the second large oil exploration target in Cuba’s onshore Block 9 but results are inconclusive while the new drilling data are being analysed.

The joint venture of Sonangol and Melbana Energy drilled the Zapato-1 well to a total depth of 3152 metres. The well is being suspended so that the subsurface interpretation may be reviewed once all the new well data sets have been incorporated.

 

Melbana advances Cuba oil appraisal drilling

Two-well campaign to start in the first quarter next year

16 November 2022
Amanda Battersby in Singapore

Australian independent Melbana Energy is planning in the first quarter of 2023 to start a two-well appraisal campaign in Block 9 onshore Cuba.

The drilling of the Alameda-1 exploration well in 2021/2022 led the partners to gain a deeper understanding of the subsurface geology in Block 9 as well as gain valuable experience in drilling these types of formations in Cuba. Significant gross intervals of moveable hydrocarbons were found in each of the three reservoirs encountered at Alameda-1, but they were often under higher pressure than had been expected.

Therefore, the JV was unable to collect clean samples of the oil that flowed or to test the performance characteristics of these reservoirs due to the design limitation of the exploration well.

These three reservoirs have been independently assessed by Canadian consultant McDaniel & Associates to contain 6.4 billion barrels of oil in place and 362 million barrels of prospective resources on a gross unrisked mean estimate basis.

The wells we have designed for the appraisal campaign can handle the drilling conditions we now know we will encounter, plus our drilling team and their contractors have gained a lot of experience from the two wells they have drilled together in Cuba, noted Melbana.

Planning for the appraisal programme has taken account that the wells may be put on extended production tests. In that case, volumes would be held in tanks on site then trucked as necessary to the nearest oil battery some 50 kilometres away, which is already being done for nearby producing fields.

Preparations are well under way to drill two appraisal wells off the same pad where we drilled our first well. We’ll be testing all three of the reservoirs where we previously encountered strong oil shows whilst drilling Alameda-1 and we’re preparing for production tests to be run for extended periods, should they be warranted,” said Melbana’s executive chairman Andrew Purcell.

Additional wells
Meanwhile, the company is pursuing permits for three additional pad locations to provide different step out options for additional wells.

Melbana, which operates Block 9 with a 30% interest, is being fully funded for its share of the appraisal costs by Angola’s state-owned Sonangol that is farming in for the majority 70% stake.

“We’re looking forward to commencing this exciting work in the new year and to hopefully beginning the next chapter of our journey in Cuba as an oil producer,” added Purcell.

 

G20 members support fossil fuels

2 November 2022

Naomi Klinge in Houston

The G20 group of major economies last year had the highest level of financial support for fossil fuels since 2014, according to a new report from BloombergNEF (BNEF)and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The BloombergNEF Climate Policy Factbook, evaluates progress that the G20 members have made in phasing out support for fossil fuels, putting a price on emissions and enforcing climate-risk disclosure.

19 members— the European Union is the twentieth — provided $693 billion in support to oil, gas, coal and fossil-fuel power in 2021. This figure is up 16% year on year but there is concern that the 19 are backtracking on their climate objectives.

Although support in 2020 was around $598 billion, possibly lower owing to reduced energy use during the Covid pandemic, the report states that 2021’s increase was not just due to economic recovery. The levels were 5% higher than those in 2016, during which the demand for energy was similar.

“Governments continue to subsidise fossil fuels – undermining the pledges they’ve made, harming public health and shrinking our chances of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change,” said Michael Bloomberg, the UN Secretary General’s special envoy on climate ambition and solutions, and founder of Bloomberg and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

“We need to dramatically speed up the shift to clean energy and away from coal and other fossil fuels, and this report highlights some of the most important steps governments can take.”

The report shows that G20 members have made some progress in reducing coal’s share of investment in fossil-fuels — from 4.1% in 2016 to 2.9% in 2021 — but found that coal still received $20 billion of government support last year.

“The G20 and G7 governments have announced a range of seemingly more ambitious commitments to phase out fossil-fuel subsidies,” said Victoria Cuming, head of global policy at BloombergNEF and lead author of the report.

“But they always seem to include imprecise language and caveats, giving governments wiggle room to interpret these pledges as they wish. BNEF’s analysis shows that there seems to be little evidence of those countries delivering on their promises.”

BNEF is also calling for progress in carbon pricing and climate-risk disclosure.

The report says only 12 G20 members have carbon pricing and stated that there needs to be a drastic increase for such mechanisms before there is a significant impact on global warming.

For climate-risk disclosure only two G20 members — the European Union and the UK — have passed laws or regulations to mandate disclosure for investors.

The report also highlights which countries are on the right track for each priority.

Germany, Italy, Mexico, the UK and the US all improved in their phasing out of support for fossil fuels. Meanwhile, Australia, Indonesia, Russia and South Korea are going in the wrong direction, according to the research..

The report says Canada, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa and the UK all made progress in carbon pricing plans but Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia and Turkey fell short in this area.

More countries made insufficient progress on climate-risk disclosure in 2021, with the report naming Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. However France, Germany, Italy and the UK showed improvements, the report claims.

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/60201/2022-11-16-g20-declaration-data.pdf

 

G20 BALI LEADERS’ DECLARATION Bali, Indonesia,

15-16 November 2022

1. Fourteen years ago, the Leaders of the G20 met for the first time, facing the most severe financial crisis in our generation. We recognized, as large global economies, that collectively we carry responsibilities and that our cooperation was necessary to global economic recovery, to tackle global challenges, and lay a foundation for strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth. We designated the G20 the premier forum for global economic cooperation, and today we reaffirm our commitment to cooperate as we, once again, address serious global economic challenges.

2. We met in Bali on 15-16 November 2022, at a time of unparalleled multidimensional crises. We have experienced the devastation brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, and other challenges including climate change, which has caused economic downturn, increased poverty, slowed global recovery, and hindered the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

3. This year, we have also witnessed the war in Ukraine further adversely impact the global economy. There was a discussion on the issue. We reiterated our national positions as expressed in other fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, which, in Resolution No. ES-11/1 dated 2 March 2022, as adopted by majority vote (141 votes for, 5 against, 35 abstentions, 12 absent) deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine. Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy – constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks. There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. Recognizing that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy.

4. It is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability. This includes defending all the Purposes and Principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and adhering to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and infrastructure in armed conflicts. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war.

5. At today’s critical moment for the global economy, it is essential that the G20 undertakes tangible, precise, swift and necessary actions, using all available policy tools, to address common challenges, including through international macro policy cooperation and concrete collaborations. In doing so, we remain committed to support developing countries, particularly the least developed and small island developing states, in responding to these global challenges and achieving the SDGs. In line with the Indonesian G20 Presidency theme — Recover Together, Recover Stronger — we will take coordinated actions to advance an agenda for a strong, inclusive and resilient global recovery and sustainable development that delivers jobs and growth. With the above in mind, we will: 2 – Stay agile and flexible in our macro-economic policy responses and cooperation. We will make public investments and structural reforms, promote private investments, and strengthen multilateral trade and resilience of global supply chains, to support long-term growth, sustainable and inclusive, green and just transitions. We will ensure long-term fiscal sustainability, with our central banks committed to achieving price stability. – Protect macroeconomic and financial stability and remain committed to using all available tools to mitigate downside risks, noting the steps taken since the Global Financial Crisis to strengthen financial resilience and promote sustainable finance and capital flows. – Take action to promote food and energy security and support stability of markets, providing temporary and targeted support to cushion the impact of price increases, strengthening dialogue between producers and consumers, and increasing trade and investments for long-term food and energy security needs, resilient and sustainable food, fertilizer and energy systems. – Unlock further investments for low- and middle-income and other developing countries, through a greater variety of innovative financing sources and instruments, including to catalyze private investment, to support the achievement of the SDGs. We ask the Multilateral Development Banks to bring forward actions to mobilize and provide additional financing within their mandates, to support achievement of the SDGs including through sustainable development and infrastructure investments, and responding to global challenges. – Recommit to accelerate achievement of the SDGs, achieving prosperity for all through sustainable development.

6. We are deeply concerned by the challenges to global food security exacerbated by current conflicts and tensions. We therefore commit to taking urgent actions to save lives, prevent hunger and malnutrition, particularly to address the vulnerabilities of developing countries, and call for an accelerated transformation towards sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems and supply chains. We commit to protect the most vulnerable from hunger by using all available tools to address the global food crisis. We will take further coordinated actions to address food security challenges including price surges and shortage of food commodities and fertilizers globally. Recalling the G20 efforts such as the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, we welcome global, regional, and national initiatives in support of food security, and in particular note the progress made by the UN Secretary General’s Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance, as well as the World Bank Group’s and IMF’s food security responses. We emphasize the importance of building on the G20 Matera Declaration, working together to sustainably produce and distribute food, ensure that food systems better contribute to adaptation and mitigation to climate change, and halting and reversing biodiversity loss, diversify food sources, promote nutritious food for all, strengthen global, regional, and local food value chains, and accelerate efforts to reduce food loss and waste. We will also implement the One Health approach, intensify research on food science and technology, and improve stakeholders’ capacity along the food supply chains, particularly women, youth, smallholder, and marginal farmers as well as fishers.

7. We support the international efforts to keep food supply chains functioning under challenging circumstances. We are committed to addressing food insecurity by ensuring accessibility, 3 affordability, and sustainability of food and food products for those in needs, particularly in developing countries and least developed countries. We reiterate our support for open, transparent, inclusive, predictable, and non-discriminatory, rules-based agricultural trade based on WTO rules. We highlight the importance of enhancing market predictability, minimizing distortions, increasing business confidence, and allowing agriculture and food trade to flow smoothly. We reaffirm the need to update global agricultural food trade rules and to facilitate trade in agricultural and food products, as well as the importance of not imposing export prohibitions or restrictions on food and fertilizers in a manner inconsistent with relevant WTO provisions. We are committed to sustained supply, in part based on local food sources, as well as diversified production of food and fertilizers to support the most vulnerable from the disruptions in food trade supply chain. We will avoid adversely impacting food security deliberately. We commit to facilitate humanitarian supplies for ensuring access to food in emergency situations and call on UN Member States and all relevant stakeholders with available resources to provide in-kind donations and resources to support countries most affected by the food crisis, as required and based on assessed needs by governments of affected countries. We continue to support the carve out of humanitarian activities from sanctions and call on all nations to support this aim, including through current efforts at the UN. We will continue to closely monitor the state of global food security and nutrition.

8. We welcome the Türkiye and UN-brokered two Istanbul Agreements signed on 22 July 2022 and consisting of the Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports (Black Sea Grain Initiative) and the Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian Federation and the Secretariat of the United Nations on Promoting Russian Food Products and Fertilizers to the World Markets, on the unimpeded deliveries of grain, foodstuffs, and fertilizers/inputs from Ukraine and the Russian Federation, to ease tension and prevent global food insecurity and hunger in developing countries. We emphasize the importance of their full, timely and continued implementation by all relevant stakeholders, as well as the UN Secretary-General’s calls for continuation of these efforts by the Parties. In this context we highlight other efforts that ensure the flow of agri-food goods such as the EU Solidarity Lanes and the Russian donations of fertilizers facilitated by the World Food Programme. Moreover, we take note of various initiatives addressing food insecurity such as the Arab Coordination Group initiative.

9. We are committed to supporting the adoption of innovative practices and technologies, including digital innovation in agriculture and food systems to enhance productivity and sustainability in harmony with nature and promote farmers and fishers’ livelihoods and increase income, in particular smallholders by increasing efficiency, and equal access to food supply chains. We will promote responsible investments in agricultural research and science and evidence-based approaches. We will continue to strengthen the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) as an early warning tool, to enhance food and fertilizer/inputs market transparency, reduce market uncertainties, and support coordinated policy responses for food security and nutrition, through the sharing of reliable and timely data and information.

10. We ask the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank Group (WBG) to share with us the results of their mapping exercises on food insecurity, which will be consolidated in the future with inputs from technical experts and other relevant international organizations, and will provide a systemic analysis of responses to address food security. This will identify any major gaps in global responses; examine food and nutrition variables and funding; examine the supply and demand of fertilizers; build on the G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS); and identify any medium-term issues that require further technical and systemic analysis. The FAO and WBG will report back by the 2023 Spring 4 Meetings.

11. We meet at a time of climate and energy crises, compounded by geopolitical challenges. We are experiencing volatility in energy prices and markets and shortage/disruptions to energy supply. We underline the urgency to rapidly transform and diversify energy systems, advance energy security and resilience and markets stability, by accelerating and ensuring clean, sustainable, just, affordable, and inclusive energy transitions and flow of sustainable investments. We stress the importance of ensuring that global energy demand is matched by affordable energy supplies. We reiterate our commitment to achieve global net zero greenhouse gas emissions/carbon neutrality by or around mid-century, while taking into account the latest scientific developments and different national circumstances. We call for continued support for developing countries, especially in the most vulnerable countries, in terms of providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy, capacity building, affordable latest technology within the public domain, mutually beneficial technology cooperation and financing mitigation actions in the energy sector.

12. We reaffirm our commitment to achieve SDG 7 targets and strive to close the gaps in energy access and to eradicate energy poverty. Recognising our leadership role, and guided by the Bali Compact and the Bali Energy Transition Roadmap, we are committed to finding solutions to achieve energy markets stability, transparency, and affordability. We will accelerate transitions and achieve our climate objectives by strengthening energy supply chain and energy security, and diversifying energy mixes and systems. We will rapidly scale up the deployment of zero and low emission power generation, including renewable energy resources, and measures to enhance energy efficiency, abatement technologies as well as removal technologies, taking into account national circumstances. We recognise the importance to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and the adoption of policies, to transition towards low-emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation, including renewable energy, as well as energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power, in line with national circumstances and recognising the need for support towards just transitions. We will increase our efforts to implement the commitment made in 2009 in Pittsburgh to phase-out and rationalize, over the medium term, inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption and commit to achieve this objective, while providing targeted support for the poorest and the most vulnerable.

We will strengthen international cooperation as well as relevant producer-consumer dialogues on securing energy affordability and accessibility by limiting volatility in energy prices and scaling up clean, safe, inclusive, and sustainable technologies, including developing regional energy interconnectivity. We are committed to promote investment in sustainable infrastructure and industry, as well as innovative technologies and a wide range of fiscal, market and regulatory mechanisms to support clean energy transitions, including, as appropriate, the use of carbon pricing and non-pricing mechanisms and incentives, while providing targeted support for the poorest and the most vulnerable.

13. Mindful of our leadership role, we reaffirm our steadfast commitments, in pursuit of the objective of UNFCCC, to tackle climate change by strengthening the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and its temperature goal, reflecting equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in light of different national circumstances. We will play our part fully in implementing the Glasgow Climate Pact and the relevant outcomes of previous COPs and CMAs, in particular COP 26, including the call to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in our NDCs, as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement. In this regard, we welcome enhanced climate actions resulting 5 from the new or updated NDCs and invite parties to urgently scale up mitigation and adaptation ambition and means of implementation as well as make progress on loss and damage at COP 27 which is being held in Africa. Noting the IPCC assessments that the impact of climate change will be much lower at a temperature increase of 1.5°C compared with 2°C, we resolve to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. This will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries, taking into account different approaches, through the development of clear national pathways that align longterm ambition with short and medium-term goals, and with international cooperation and support, including finance and technology, and sustainable and responsible consumption and production as critical enablers, in the context of sustainable development.

14. We welcome the progress to date towards achieving a Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). We urge all parties and countries to finalize and adopt the GBF with the view of realizing of 2050 Vision of “Living in harmony with Nature” at the second part of COP15 CBD as a strong framework of action and accountability for halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and, as appropriate, to update National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans accordingly. We emphasize the importance of achieving and synergizing the objectives of the three Rio Conventions. We stress the need for clear and measurable goals and targets for biodiversity and means of implementation and accountability. We commit to strengthen actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and call on CBD Parties to adopt an ambitious, balanced, practical, effective, robust and transformative post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework at COP-15 in Montreal. We urge for increased resource mobilization from all sources, including from countries and entities, to provide new and additional financial resources for the implementation of the GBF, once it is negotiated, including to help enable and support developing country parties, and for aligning private and public financial flows with biodiversity objectives. We will scale up efforts to combat biodiversity loss, deforestation, desertification, land degradation and drought, as well as restoring degraded land to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030, and in support of the G20’s ambition to reduce land degradation by 50% by 2040 on a voluntary basis. We recognize the effort made by a number of countries to ensure that at least 30% of global land and at least 30% of the global ocean and seas are conserved or protected by 2030 and we will help to make progress towards this objective in accordance with national circumstances. We commit to reduce environmental impacts by changing unsustainable consumption and production patterns as well as to enhance environmentally sound waste management including by preventing illegal cross-border traffic of waste.

15. We will step up efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, including through Nature-based Solutions and Ecosystem-based Approaches, support climate mitigation and adaptation, enhance environmental conservation and protection, sustainable use and restoration, responding to natural disasters, reduce ecosystem degradation, enhance ecosystem services and to address issues affecting the marine and coastal environment. We will further promote sustainable development and lifestyles, resource efficiency and circular economy to increase sustainability and work together on scientific knowledge-sharing, raising awareness, and capacity building, particularly to advance on the ocean-based climate action. We are committed to ending illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. We welcome the WTO multilateral Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and encourage its rapid entry into force. In line with the UNEA Resolution 5/14, we are committed to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, with the ambition of completing the work by the end of 2024. We highlight the progress made and call on participating delegations to achieve an ambitious and balanced agreement without delay on an international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and 6 sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, as called for in the UNGA Resolution 69/292. We also acknowledge that ecosystems, including forests, seagrasses, coral reefs, wetland ecosystems in all their diversity, including peatlands and mangrove, support climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

16. We acknowledge the urgent need to strengthen policies and mobilize financing, from all sources in a predictable, adequate and timely manner to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation including significantly increasing support for developing countries. We recall and further urge developed countries to fulfil their commitments to deliver on the goal of jointly mobilizing USD 100 billion per year urgently by 2020 and through to 2025 in the context of meaningful mitigation action and transparency on implementation. We also support continued deliberations on an ambitious new collective quantified goal of climate finance from a floor of USD 100 billion per year to support developing countries, that helps in fulfilling the objective of the UNFCCC and implementation of the Paris Agreement. We emphasize the importance of transparency in the implementation of the pledges. We also recall the Glasgow Climate Pact urging developed countries to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing countries, from 2019 levels, by 2025, in the context of achieving a balance between mitigation and adaptation in the provision of scaled up financial resource, recalling Article 9 of the Paris Agreement.

17. In the context of strengthening global efforts to reach the objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the goals of the Paris Agreement, as well as implementing the COP26 commitments, we reiterate that our policy mix toward carbon neutrality and net zero should include a full range of fiscal, market and regulatory mechanisms including, as appropriate, the use of carbon pricing and non-pricing mechanisms and incentives, and phase out and rationalize, over the medium term, inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption and commit to achieve this objective, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable, and in line with national circumstances. We acknowledge the macro-economic risks stemming from climate change and will continue discussions on the costs and benefits of different transitions.

18. We are committed to take actions in support of orderly, just and affordable transitions to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in line with the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement as well as with the convention on Biological Diversity. We welcome the progress made across the G20, international organizations, other international networks and initiatives, and the private sector in addressing the priorities of the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap, which is voluntary and flexible in nature, and call for further efforts to advance the Roadmap’s recommended actions that will scale up sustainability financing. We welcome the establishment of the Sustainable Finance Working Group’s online dashboard and repository of relevant work, to illustrate ongoing and future progress made on the Roadmap, and encourage members to contribute on a voluntary basis, taking country circumstances into consideration. We endorse the 2022 G20 Sustainable Finance Report which articulates practical and voluntary recommendations for jurisdictions and relevant stakeholders in developing transition finance frameworks, improving the credibility of financial institutions’ net zero commitments and scaling up sustainable finance instruments, with a focus on improving accessibility and affordability. We also welcome the valuable discussion during the Presidency’s Forum on policy levers that incentivize financing and investment to support the transition. 7

19. We remain committed to promoting a healthy and sustainable recovery which builds towards achieving and sustaining Universal Health Coverage under the SDGs. While the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared monkeypox as another Public Health Emergency International Concern (PHEIC), reinforcing that international health threats are ever present and that the G20 and broader global community must come together to improve our collective prevention, preparedness and response capabilities. We reaffirm the importance of strengthening of national health systems by putting people at the center of preparedness and equip them to respond effectively. We emphasize the need for equitable access to pandemic medical countermeasures, and welcome the efforts of ACT-A, and note that the results of the ACT-A external evaluations can be useful lessons for future discussions. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthen global health governance, with the leading and coordination role of WHO and support from other international organizations. We support the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) that will draft and negotiate a legally binding instrument that should contain both legally binding and non-legally binding elements to strengthen pandemic PPR and the working group on the International Health Regulations that will consider amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) mindful that the decision will be made by World Health Assembly.

20. The G20 High Level Independent Panel, as well as the WHO and World Bank have estimated there is an annual pandemic PPR financing gap of approximately USD 10 billion. As initiated by the Saudi Arabian G20 Presidency, the Italian G20 Presidency and continued by the Indonesian G20 Presidency, we welcome the provision of additional financial resources, to assist in financing critical gaps in implementing IHR (2005) and increase PPR capacities. In this regard, we welcome the establishment of a new Financial Intermediary Fund for Pandemic PPR (the ‘Pandemic Fund’) hosted by the World Bank. It aims to address critical pandemic PPR gaps and build capacity at national, regional and global levels, bring additionality in financial resources for pandemic PPR, catalyze complementary investments, and facilitate a coordinated and coherent approach to pandemic PPR strengthening. We welcome the Pandemic Fund’s inclusive membership and representation from low- and middle-income countries, civil society organizations and donors, and acknowledge the WHO’s technical expertise and central coordination role in this endeavor, which reflects its leadership role in the global health architecture. We appreciate the work of the Secretariat hosted by the World Bank, with the WHO as technical lead and as chair of the Technical Advisory Panel. We look forward to the launch of the Pandemic Fund’s first call for proposals as soon as possible. We commit to increase the capacity of developing countries for pandemic PPR through the Pandemic Fund, and look forward to the stocktaking review of the Pandemic Fund at the end of its first year to draw on lessons learned and incorporate any changes needed to ensure it is operating in accordance with its governing documents and effective at filling critical PPR gaps, and that it continues to have a central coordination role for the WHO, maintains a strong connection to the G20, and is inclusive of the perspectives of low- and middle-income countries and additional non-G20 partners in its decision making.

We commend the pledges by current donors, amounting to over USD 1.4 billion, and encourage additional voluntary pledges. We call on new donors to join the Pandemic Fund, as they are able to.

21. It is essential to continue collaboration between Finance and Health Ministries for pandemic PPR. We extend the mandate of the Task Force, and ask the Secretariat of the Task Force to work with the Task Force co-chairs, the incoming Indian G20 Presidency, the G20 Troika, and G20 members to agree on a Task Force workplan for 2023, taking into account a multi-year planning horizon. We thank the WHO for continuing to host the Secretariat, with support from the World Bank. In 2023 the Task Force will continue to be co-chaired by Indonesia and Italy, 8 representing advanced and emerging economy perspectives, and will continue to draw on expertise of the WHO, International Financial Institutions and other relevant organizations, with the support of the 2023 Indian G20 Presidency. To expand the voice of lower income countries we invite key regional organizations to join the Task Force meetings, as appropriate.

We will work closely with the WHO to ensure the Task Force continues to complement the global pandemic PPR architecture and there is no further duplication and fragmentation of the global health governance system. Delivering on the mandate from the G20 Rome Leaders’ Declaration, in 2023 the Task Force will continue developing coordination arrangements between Finance and Health Ministries, and share best practices and experiences from past finance-health coordination in order to develop joint responses to pandemics, as appropriate. The Task Force will undertake work to better understand economic risks and vulnerabilities from pandemics, and how to mitigate them, with a focus on finance and health coordination in response to new pandemics, considering country-specific circumstances and recognizing the importance of further work on resource mobilization. We ask the Task Force to report back to Finance and Health Ministers in 2023 on its progress.

22. We recognize that the extensive COVID-19 immunization is a global public good and we will advance our effort to ensure timely, equitable and universal access to safe, affordable, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics (VTDs). Acknowledging the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics and the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), we note that, no later than six months from the date of the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement, WTO members will decide on its extension to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics.

We remain committed to embedding a multisectoral One Health approach and enhancing global surveillance, including genomic surveillance, in order to detect pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that may threaten human health. To enable global pathogen surveillance as part of our commitment to implement the IHR (2005), we encourage sharing of pathogen data in a timely manner on shared and trusted platforms in collaboration with WHO. We encourage sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of pathogens consistent with applicable national laws.

23. We recognize the need for strengthening local and regional health product manufacturing capacities and cooperation as well as sustainable global and regional research and development networks to facilitate better access to VTDs globally, especially in developing countries, and underscore the importance of public-private partnership, and technology transfer and knowledge sharing on voluntary and mutually agreed terms.

We support the WHO mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer hub as well as all as the spokes in all regions of the world with the objective of sharing technology and technical know-how on voluntary and mutually agreed terms. We welcome joint research and joint production of vaccines, including enhanced cooperation among developing countries. We acknowledge the importance of shared technical standards and verification methods, under the framework of the IHR (2005), to facilitate seamless international travel, interoperability, and recognizing digital solutions and non-digital solutions, including proof of vaccinations. We support continued international dialogue and collaboration on the establishment of trusted global digital health networks as part of the efforts to strengthen prevention and response to future pandemics, that should capitalize and build on the success of the existing standards and digital COVID-19 certificates.

24. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the transformation of the digital ecosystem and digital economy. We recognize the importance of digital transformation in reaching the SDGs. 9 We acknowledge that affordable and high-quality digital connectivity is essential for digital inclusion and digital transformation, while a resilient, safe and secure online environment is necessary to enhance confidence and trust in the digital economy. We recognize the importance of policies to create an enabling, inclusive, open, fair and non-discriminatory digital economy that fosters the application of new technologies, allows businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive, and protects and empowers consumers, while addressing the challenges, related to digital divides, privacy, data protection, intellectual property rights, and online safety. We acknowledge the importance to counter disinformation campaigns, cyber threats, online abuse, and ensuring security in connectivity infrastructure. We remain committed to further enable data free flow with trust and promote cross-border data flows. We will advance a more inclusive, human-centric, empowering, and sustainable digital transformation. We also reaffirm the role of data for development, economic growth and social well-being.

25. We encourage international collaboration to further develop digital skills and digital literacy to harness the positive impacts of digital transformation, especially for women, girls, and people in vulnerable situations, and further support efforts to develop reliable skills and literacy. We note the increasing demands for a workforce adept at utilizing emerging technologies, education and training, reskilling and upskilling to meet such demands.

We also seek to increase connectivity by accelerating high capacity and secure infrastructure and provide more accessible and affordable resources and tools, while also improve the digital literacy skills of learners, teachers, school leaders, and other educational professional to ensure universal access to education, accelerate learning recovery and promote lifelong learning.

26. We found digital technology becomes the key for recovery and empowerment across various sectors, including in building a resilient and sustainable food system and agriculture, creating sustainable and decent jobs and human capacity development, supporting inclusive trade, industrialization and investment, increasing productivity, as well as opening up the potential of the future economy, especially for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups. It is essential to ensure that no one is left behind in our effort to digitally transform our society, by involving all stakeholders, including the youth, women, business sector, audit institution, parliaments, scientists, and labours.

27. We support continued implementation of the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, including the future delivery of the initial estimates for key performance indicators and 2022 Progress Report that sets out priorities for the next stage of work. We encourage central banks, other public authorities and the payments industry to continue to work collaboratively on these important initiatives to enhance cross-border payments. We welcome the report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) on interlinking payment systems and the role of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that was presented in a joint workshop by the Indonesian G20 Presidency in coordination with the BIS CPMI and the BIS Innovation Hub (BISIH) on cross-border payments and interoperability at the Festival Ekonomi Keuangan Digital Indonesia (FEKDI) 2022. We also welcome the joint report by the BIS CPMI, BISIH, IMF, and World Bank on options for access to and interoperability of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) for cross-border payments.

28. We endorse the G20 Financial Inclusion Framework on Harnessing Digitalization to Increase Productivity and Foster a Sustainable and Inclusive Economy for Women, Youth and MSMEs or Yogyakarta Financial Inclusion Framework guided by the G20 2020 Financial Inclusion 10 Action Plan. To address digitalization and sustainable finance developments, and support financial inclusion and well-being, we endorse the updated G20/OECD High-Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection and welcome the updated G20/OECD High-Level Principles on SME Financing.

29. To support our collective ambition to recover together, recover stronger, we commit to wellcalibrated, well-planned, and well-communicated policies to support sustainable recovery, with due consideration to country-specific circumstances. We commit to mitigate scarring effects to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. We will stay agile and flexible in our fiscal policy response, standing ready to adjust to the changing circumstances as needed. Temporary and targeted measures to help sustain the purchasing power of the most vulnerable and cushion the impact of commodity price increases, including energy and food prices, should be well designed to avoid adding to high inflationary pressures. We will continue to enhance macro policy cooperation, preserve financial stability and long-term fiscal sustainability, and safeguard against downside risks and negative spillovers. Macroprudential policies need to remain vigilant to guard against rising systemic risks as financial conditions tighten.

Recognizing that many currencies have moved significantly this year with increased volatility, we reaffirm the commitments made on exchange rates by our Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in April 2021. We also reiterate the importance of global cooperation and express our appreciation to the Indonesian G20 Presidency for its efforts to maintain an effective system of multilateralism through the G20.

30. G20 central banks are strongly committed to achieving price stability, in line with their respective mandates. To that end, they are closely monitoring the impact of price pressures on inflation expectations and will continue to appropriately calibrate the pace of monetary policy tightening in a data-dependent and clearly communicated manner, ensuring that inflation expectations remain well anchored, while being mindful to safeguard the recovery and limit cross-country spillovers. Central bank independence is crucial to achieving these goals and buttressing monetary policy credibility.

31. We are committed to the swift implementation of the OECD/G20 two-pillar international tax package. We welcome the progress on Pillar One. We also welcome progress on Pillar Two Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Model Rules, which pave the way for consistent implementation at a global level as a common approach, and we look forward to the completion of the GloBE Implementation Framework. We call on the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) to finalize Pillar One, including remaining issues and by signing the Multilateral Convention in the first half of 2023, and to complete the negotiations of the Subject to Tax Rule (STTR) under Pillar Two that would allow the development of a Multilateral Instrument for its implementation. We will work to strengthen the tax and development agenda in light of the July 2022 G20 Ministerial Symposium on Tax and Development, and we note the G20/OECD Roadmap on Developing Countries and International Tax.

We support the progress made on implementing internationally agreed tax transparency standards, including regional efforts and welcome the signing of the Asia Initiative Bali Declaration in July 2022. We also welcome the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and the amendments to the Common Reporting Standard, both of which we consider to be integral additions to the global standards for automatic exchange of information. We call on the OECD to conclude the work on implementation packages, including possible timelines, and invite the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes to build on its commitment and monitoring processes to ensure widespread implementation of both packages by relevant jurisdictions. 11

32. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening the long-term financial resilience of the international financial architecture, including by promoting sustainable capital flows, and developing local currency capital markets. We welcome the IMF’s revised Institutional View on Liberalization and Management of Capital Flows and look forward to continued discussions with international organizations on the coherent implementation of international frameworks for the use of capital flow management measures, while being mindful of their original purpose.

We look forward to further progress by the IMF in operationalizing the Integrated Policy Framework and welcome the report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on Macro-financial stability frameworks. We welcome continued exploration of how CBDCs could potentially be designed to facilitate cross-border payments, while preserving the stability and integrity of the international monetary and financial system. We welcome the successful completion of the G20 TechSprint 2022, a joint initiative with the BISIH, which has contributed to the debate on the most practical and feasible solutions to implement CBDCs. We reiterate our commitment to maintaining a strong and effective Global Financial Safety Net with a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced IMF at its center. We remain committed to revisiting the adequacy of quotas and will continue the process of IMF governance reform under the 16th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula as a guide, by 15 December 2023. We take note on the continuation of discussion of the IMF surcharge policy.

33. 1 We are committed to support all vulnerable countries to recover together, recover stronger. We welcome pledges amounting to USD 81.6 billion through the voluntary channelling of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) or equivalent contributions, and call for further pledges from all willing and able countries to meet the total global ambition of USD 100 billion of voluntary contributions for countries most in need. We welcome the operationalization of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) to help eligible low-income countries, small states and vulnerable middle-income countries address longer-term structural challenges that pose macroeconomic risks, including those stemming from pandemics and climate change. We welcome the voluntary contributions to the RST and call for additional pledges and timely contributions to it and to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT), especially for subsidy resources, to ensure a broad pool of contributors to meet funding needs. We are open to explore viable options for countries to voluntarily channel SDRs through Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), while respecting national legal frameworks and the need to preserve the reserve assets status of SDRs.

We will explore ways, including through balance sheet optimization measures, and other potential avenues, to maximize MDBs’ development impact. We welcome early deliberations and urge MDBs to continue to discuss options for implementing the recommendations of the G20 Independent Review of MDBs’ Capital Adequacy Frameworks within their own governance frameworks, and to deliver an update in Spring 2023. This will inform the ongoing development of a roadmap for the implementation of the recommendations, while safeguarding MDBs’ long-term financial sustainability, robust credit ratings and preferred creditor status. We acknowledge the concluding report on the 2020 Shareholding Review of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and look forward to the 2025 Shareholding Review.

At this challenging juncture, we reiterate our commitment to step up our efforts to implement the Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) in a predictable, timely, orderly and coordinated manner. We welcome progress in this regard, including the provision of financing assurances for Zambia. We welcome the conclusion of the debt treatment to Chad and encourage the timely conclusion of the debt treatment for Zambia by early 2023. 1 Noting that one member has divergent views on debt issues in paragraph 33, and emphasized the importance of debt treatment by multilateral creditors like MDBs. 12 We also encourage the conclusion of the debt treatment for Ethiopia under an IMF-supported program. We are concerned about the deteriorating debt situation in some vulnerable middleincome countries. This could be addressed by multilateral coordination that involves all official and private bilateral creditors to take swift action to respond to their requests for debt treatments. We stress the importance for private creditors and other official bilateral creditors to commit to providing debt treatments on terms at least as favourable to ensure fair burden sharing in line with the comparability of treatment principle.

We reaffirm the importance of joint efforts by all actors, including private creditors, to continue working toward enhancing debt transparency. We welcome the efforts of private sector lenders who have already contributed data to the joint Institute of International Finance (IIF)/OECD Data Repository Portal, and continue to encourage others to also contribute on a voluntary basis.

34. In the face of a more challenging global economic and financial outlook, we underline the need to reinforce global financial system resilience and ask the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and IMF to continue their monitoring efforts. We commit to sustaining global financial stability, including through continued coordination of policy measures and implementation of international standards. We welcome the FSB’s final report on financial sector exit strategies and scarring effects of COVID-19 and its conclusions regarding financial stability issues by the end of 2022. We strongly support global policy actions to increase resilience, in particular against cross-border spillovers, including by addressing the identified structural vulnerabilities in non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI) from a systemic perspective. To this end, we welcome the FSB’s NBFI progress report with policy proposals to address systemic risk in NBFI, including in open-ended funds.

We welcome the report by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on the review of margining practices. We support taking forward the implementation of the FSB updated Roadmap for addressing climate-related financial risks which complements the G20 Sustainable Finance Roadmap. Globally consistent data are needed in order to effectively address climate-related financial risks.

We look forward to the finalization of standards by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in support of globally consistent, comparable and reliable climate-related financial disclosures, and its work beyond climate, and we welcome the efforts to achieve interoperability across disclosure frameworks. We welcome the FSB progress report on achieving consistent and comparable climate-related financial disclosures and the final report on supervisory and regulatory approaches to climate-related risks. We welcome the report by the FSB and the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) on climate-scenario analysis by jurisdictions.

35. We welcome ongoing work by the FSB and international standard setters to ensure that the crypto-assets ecosystem, including so-called stablecoins, is closely monitored and subject to robust regulation, supervision, and oversight to mitigate potential risks to financial stability. We welcome the FSB’s proposed approach for establishing a comprehensive international framework for the regulation of crypto-asset activities based on the principle of ‘same activity, same risk, same regulation’. We welcome the FSB consultative report on the review of its highlevel recommendations for the regulation, supervision and oversight of “global stablecoin” arrangements.

We also welcome the FSB consultation report on promoting international consistency of regulatory and supervisory approaches to crypto-assets activities and markets. It is critical to build public awareness of risks, to strengthen regulatory outcomes and to support a level playing field, while harnessing the benefits of innovation. We welcome the final guidance by the BIS CPMI and IOSCO which confirms that the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures apply to systematically important stablecoin arrangements. We welcome the FSB consultative report on achieving greater convergence in cyber incidents 13 reporting, and look forward to the final report. We welcome the results of the second phase of the Data Gaps Initiative (DGI-2) and will continue to work with partners in addressing the identified remaining challenges. We welcome the workplan on the new Data Gaps Initiative (DGI) prepared by the IMF, FSB and the Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG) in collaboration with participating members.

We ask the IMF, the FSB and the IAG to begin work on filling these data gaps and report back on progress in the second half of 2023, noting that the targets are ambitious and delivery will need to take into account national statistical capacities, priorities, and country circumstances as well as avoiding overlap and duplication at international level. We welcome the progress of work on the review of the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, including the second report and the ongoing public consultation, and look forward to further updates on the review.

36. We reaffirm that the rules-based, non-discriminatory, free, fair, open, inclusive, equitable, sustainable and transparent multilateral trading system (MTS), with the WTO at its core, is indispensable to advancing our shared objectives of inclusive growth, innovation, job creation and sustainable development in an open and interconnected world as well as to supporting the resilience and recovery of a global economy under strain due to COVID-19 and global supply chain disruption. We agree that reforming the WTO is key in strengthening trust in the MTS.

We will continue to ensure a level playing field and fair competition to foster a favourable trade and investment environment for all. We note the importance of the contribution of the MTS to promote the UN 2030 Agenda and its SDGs. Commending the successful conclusion of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12), we commit to seize and advance the positive momentum by engaging in active, constructive, pragmatic, and focused discussions on WTO reform to improve all its functions, including reform of the dispute settlement mechanism, on the path leading to the MC13.

37. We are committed to reinforce international trade and investment cooperation to address supply chain issues and avoid trade disruptions. We believe that trade and climate/environmental policies should be mutually supportive and WTO consistent and contribute to the objectives of sustainable development. We also recognise the importance of inclusive international cooperation on digital trade.

We recognize the need to promote value addition through sustainable and inclusive investment in highly productive sectors such as downstream manufacturing, digital trade, and services, and to foster linkages between foreign investors and local enterprises particularly MSMEs. We note the initiative from the Indonesian Presidency to hold discussions on policy coherence between trade, investment and industry, and to continue addressing industry-related issues in the broader G20 process, as appropriate.

38. We recognize the importance of revitalizing infrastructure investment in a sustainable, inclusive, accessible, and affordable way. We endorse the voluntary and non-binding G20/GI Hub Framework on How to Best Leverage Private Sector Participation to Scale Up Sustainable Infrastructure Investment which will consider country circumstances, and which will complement investment from other sources, including public investment and finance provided by MDBs. We note the Outcome Document from the 2022 G20 Infrastructure Investors Dialogue. To enhance social inclusion and address subnational disparities, we endorse the G20-OECD Policy Toolkit on Mobilizing Funding and Financing for Inclusive and Quality Infrastructure Investment in Regions and Cities, prepared with the support of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). We note the Preliminary Findings Report on Gender Inclusive Approaches in Private Participation in Infrastructure in promoting gender considerations during the infrastructure lifecycle and look forward to the final report. We endorse the InfraTracker 2.0 which will enable both the public and private sectors towards transformative 14 infrastructure investment post-COVID-19, by providing insights into long-term infrastructure strategies and plans. To narrow the digital divide, we endorse the G20 Compendium of Case Studies on Digital Infrastructure Finance: Issues, Practices and Innovations. We endorse the Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) Indicators and associated guidance note, developed for the G20, which are voluntary and non-binding and consider country circumstances, and we look forward to further discussions on how the QII indicators can be applied. We welcome progress made towards developing a possible new governance model for the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub) and ask that principles to guide the process be finalized as soon as possible.

39. The rise of automation and digital technologies are reshaping the world of work, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Adding to the situation, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities in many countries and continues to disproportionately affect women, youth, older workers, persons with disabilities and migrant workers. We underline that it remains our utmost priority to mitigate the adverse impact of the current trends on the labour market, reduce inequalities while responding effectively to the opportunities that automation and digital technologies present and promote gender equality. We remain committed to the promotion of decent work and the elimination of child and forced labour.

40. We reaffirm our commitment to support the full inclusion of migrants, including migrant workers, refugees, in our recovery efforts, in the spirit of international cooperation and in line with national policies, legislation, and circumstances, ensuring full respect for their human rights and fundamental freedoms regardless of their migration status.

We also recognize the importance of preventing irregular migration flows and the smuggling of migrants, as part of a comprehensive approach for safe, orderly and regular migration, while responding to humanitarian needs and the root causes of displacement. We support strengthening cooperation between countries of origin, transit, and destination. We will continue the dialogue on migration and forced displacement in future Presidencies.

41. We remain committed to a human-centred, inclusive, fair, sustainable approach that leads to greater social justice, decent work, and social protection for all. We will continue our work to integrate persons with disabilities, women, and youth across sectors and levels in pursuit of an inclusive labour market. We are resolved to promote sustainable development of human capacity, labour markets, and productivity, including through community-based vocational education and training, to advance job creation through entrepreneurship, to empower MSMEs, and to accelerate our efforts to foster and adapt labour protection for all workers, including those in the informal sector. We will maximize our approach to skills development to respond effectively to the needs of the labour market, with the involvement of social partners. We will accelerate progress towards the Antalya Youth Goal, as well as universal social protection for all by 2030.

42. We are deeply concerned that multidimensional crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as lack of fiscal space and unequal access to finance and technology, are posing significant challenges towards realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda in a timely manner. We will demonstrate leadership and take collective actions to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs by 2030 and address developmental challenges by reinvigorating a more inclusive multilateralism and reform aimed at implementing the 2030 Agenda. 15

43. In this regard, we will strengthen inclusive and sustainable recovery and build resilience in all developing countries, including SIDS in the Pacific and Caribbean and LDCs, through ambitious and concrete actions. We also reiterate our continued support to Africa, including through the G20 Compact with Africa and the G20 Initiative on Supporting Industrialization in Africa and LDCs. We will focus on MSMEs, adaptive social protection, green economy and blue economy. We recognise the need for partnership to promote mutually beneficial technology cooperation and share good practice, as well as the need for inclusive and quality infrastructure investment for stronger recovery and resilience. We underscore the need to address the financing gap towards implementation of the 2030 Agenda, through enhancing innovative financing mechanisms, including blended finance, while noting the importance of transparency and mutual accountability. We take note of initiatives such as the Coalition for Disaster Resilience Infrastructure and the Global Blended Finance Alliance, and welcome the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. We look forward to the success of the SDGs Summit in 2023.

44. Access to education is a human right and a pivotal tool for inclusive and sustainable economic recovery. We welcome the outcome of the Transforming Education Summit. We will act in solidarity in particular with developing countries to rebuild more resilient, techenabled, accessible, and effective education systems. We will empower relevant actors within and beyond G20 to remove barriers to education, improve teaching and learning environments, and support transitions within and across all stages of education, with emphasis on women and girls. We also underscore the importance of learners’ well-being in their preparation for work and meaningful participation and contribution to more equitable, inclusive and sustainable society. We reaffirm the importance of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and our commitment to SDG4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and training. We are committed to promoting lifelong learning at all levels amidst the changing nature of work and encourage partnership in this regard.

45. We acknowledge the importance of research and innovation in sustainable resource utilization in various sectors, especially in the midst of health, climate, food and energy crises. We welcome research and innovation collaboration for the conservation of biodiversity and its use to support the sustainable development including green and blue economy. We also promote inclusive collaborations to further research and innovation, as well as promoting researchers’ international mobility.

46. As women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises, we reaffirm our commitment to put gender equality and women’s empowerment at the core of our efforts for an inclusive recovery and sustainable development. We commit to implement the G20 Roadmap Towards and Beyond the Brisbane Goal foster financial inclusion and access to digital technologies, including to address the unequal distribution in paid and unpaid care and domestic work, with a focus on closing the gender pay gap.

We commit to the elimination of gender-based violence, the enhancement of social, health, care and educational services, and the overcoming of gender stereotypes. We will continue to advance women’s and girls’ equal access to inclusive and quality education, including participations in STEM education, women entrepreneurship through MSMEs, and women’s and girls’ access in leadership positions. We will promote quality of life for women in rural areas and women with disabilities. We welcome the work that has been done by the EMPOWER Alliance and its engagement with the G20, and support the future convening of G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment. 16

47. We reaffirm the important role of tourism for global recovery, and the community-based approach for rebuilding a more human-centred, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient tourism sector. We acknowledge the vital importance of strengthening safe international mobility and connectivity and seamless post-Covid travel to enable tourism recovery. We further recognize that creative economy, which involve knowledge-based economy, human creativity, and intellectual property rights, contributes to improving the resiliency of tourism local communities and MSMEs through human capital development, digital transformation, innovation, public-private partnerships, sustainable preservation of natural and cultural heritage, and innovative financing while retaining their significant commercial and cultural values.

48. We reaffirm the role of culture as an enabler and driver for sustainable development with intrinsic value beyond its social and economic benefits. We are committed to develop policies that draw on cultural diversity as a resource for sustainable living and promote an inclusive and equitable ecosystem at all levels that values the contribution of those working in the culture, arts and heritage sectors. We will respect, protect and preserve the cultural heritage of our peoples, including local communities and indigenous peoples, as applicable. We support public incentives and sustainable investments from the private sector to strengthen the cultural economy. We will safeguard cultural heritage as well as fighting illicit trafficking of cultural property and promoting restitution to its rightful owner/countries of origin, in accordance with the relevant UNESCO Conventions and national laws.

49. We will continue to lead by example through strengthening and implementing our obligations and commitments to anti-corruption efforts including through legally binding instruments, while renewing our commitment to zero tolerance for corruption. We emphasize the importance of transparency and accountability for both public and private sector as a crucial part of a collective recovery effort. We underscore the important role of auditing as well as public participation and anti-corruption education in preventing and tackling any form of corruption. We recall our commitments and call on all countries to criminalise bribery, including bribery of foreign public officials, and effectively prevent, combat, detect, investigate, prosecute and sanction bribery.

We will further work to strengthen international cooperation and legal frameworks to combat economic crimes including corruption related to organized crime and money laundering, including, on a voluntary basis, through existing networks and initiatives such as GlobE and the G20 Denial of Entry Experts Network. We will share information on our actions towards criminalising foreign bribery and enforcing foreign bribery legislation in line with Article 16 of UNCAC, and look forward to enlarging participation to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, as appropriate. We reaffirm our commitment to deny safe haven to corruption offenders and their assets, in accordance to domestic laws. We also recognize the importance of mitigating corruption risk in all sectors. We will further strengthen our engagement with and promote active participation by stakeholders such as academia, civil society, media and the private sector, including to advance a culture of integrity.

50. We recognize the need for the international community to step up their efforts to effectively combat money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing. We reaffirm our commitment to delivering the strategic priorities of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and its FATF Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs) to lead global action to respond to these threats. We welcome the initiative by the FATF to promote implementation of international standards on virtual assets, in particular the “travel rule”, and transparency of beneficial ownership, and acknowledge their role in the fight against systemic corruption and environmental crimes, which gravely impact economies and societies. We support the ongoing work of the FATF to 17 enhance global efforts to seize criminal proceeds and return funds to victims and states in line with domestic frameworks. We encourage all G20 members to strengthen collaboration to adopt and effectively implement the FATF standards.

51. We welcome the Indonesian Presidency’s efforts to compile a wide array of national submissions and international coordinated collaborations from G20 members, invited countries, and regional and international organizations. These have been presented in the “G20 Action for Strong and Inclusive Recovery”, as annexed. We call for further concrete actions to impart greater momentum and impact to the efforts of international community to recover together and recover stronger.

52. We welcome the outcomes of various G20 working groups and Ministerial meetings. We appreciate and thank Indonesia for its Presidency and for successfully hosting the Bali G20 Leaders’ Summit and for its contribution to the G20 process. We look forward to meeting again in India in 2023, in Brazil in 2024 and in South Africa in 2025.

We thank international organizations, including the UN and its Specialised Agencies, World Bank Group, IMF, OECD, Asian Development Bank, ERIA, CEPI, European Investment Bank, GGGI, ICAO, IEA, IEF, IFAD, ILO, IRENA, FAO, FSB, Gavi, Global Fund, IAEA, Islamic Development Bank, ITU, Medicine Patent Pool, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll), OPEC, WEF, WFP, WHO, WTO, UNCCD, UNCTAD, UNDESA, UNDP, UNECE, UNESCAP, UNESCO, UNFCCC, UN Global Pulse, UN Habitat, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNOPS, UN Women, UNWTO and the G20 Engagement Groups (W20, L20, T20, S20, Y20, SAI20, P20, C20, B20, U20) for their valuable inputs and policy recommendations.

• 18 Annexes A. Ministerial Meetings and Working Group Outcome Documents
• 1. Communiqué 1st G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (Jakarta, 17- 18 February 2022)
• 2. Chair Summary G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (Washington DC, 20 April 2022)
• 3. Chair Summary Note Meeting of G20 Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS-G20) (Bali, 5-7 July 2022)
• 4. G20 Chair’s Summary Third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (Bali, 15-16 July 2022)
• 5. Chair’s Summary Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment (Bali, 24-25 August 2022)
• 6. G20 Chair’s Summary Joint Environment and Climate Ministers’ Meeting (31 August 2022) a. Annex 1: G20 Partnership on Ocean-based Actions for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation b. Annex 2: G20 Studies under the Climate Sustainability Working Group
• 7. G20 Digital Economy Ministers’ Meeting 2022 Chair’s Summary (Bali, 1 September 2022) a. Annex 1: Stocktaking on the Extended Concept and Shared Understanding of Digital Connectivity b. Annex 2: Collection of Policies and Recommendations to Improve Meaningful Participation of People in Vulnerable Situations in the Digital Economy c. Annex 3: Report on Identifying Key Enablers on Digital Identity
• 8. G20 Chair’s Summary Education Ministers’ Meeting (Bali, 1 September 2022)
• 9. G20 Chair’s Summary Energy Transitions Ministers Meeting 2022 (Bali, 2 September 2022) a. Bali Compact b. Decade of Actions: Bali Energy Transitions Roadmap c. Stocktake on Access, Technology and Finance d. Summary of G20 2022 Energy Transitions Working Group Side Events
• 10. G20 Chair’s Summary on Multilateralism for Sustainable Development Goals (Belitung, 8 September 2022) a. G20 Roadmap for Stronger Recovery and Resilience in Developing Countries, including Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States b. G20 Principles to Scale up Blended Finance in Developing Countries, including Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States c. 2022 G20 Bali Update on the G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and G20 Development Commitments
• 11. Culture for Sustainable Living: Chair’s Summary of the G20 Culture Ministers Meeting (Borobudur, 13 September 2022)
• 12. G20 Chair’s Summary Labour and Employment Ministers Meeting 2022 (Bali, 13-14 September 2022) a. The G20 Policy Recommendations for Sustainable Growth and Productivity in Human Capacity Development through Strengthening Community-Based Vocational Training (CBVT) b. G20 Policy Principles on Adapting Labour Protection for More Effective Protection and Increased Resilience for All Workers 19 c. Policy Recommendation on Promoting Entrepreneurship and Support MSMEs As Job Creation Instruments d. Action Plan on Accelerating and Monitoring the G20 Principles for the Labour Market Integration of Persons with Disabilities e. Update of the G20 Skills Strategy
• 13. G20 Chair’s Summary Trade, Investment and Industry Ministers Meeting (Bali, 22-23 September 2022) a. Non-binding Guiding Principles to Support the Multilateral Trading System for the Achievement of the SDGs b. G20 Compendium on Promoting Investment for Sustainable Development (Bali Compendium)
• 14. 2022 G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting Chair’s Summary a. Bali Guidelines for strengthening Communities and MSMEs as Tourism Transformation Agents – A People-Centered Recovery
• 15. Chair’s Summary G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting “Balancing Food Production and Trade to Fulfil Food for All (Bali, 28 September 2022)
• 16. High-Level Principles on Enhancing the Role of Auditing in Tackling Corruption (29 July 2022)
• 17. Background Note on Mitigating Corruption Risk in Renewable Energy (11 November 2022)
• 18. Compendium of Good Practices on Public Participation and Anti-Corruption Education (11 November 2022) 19. Compendium on Good Practices of Regulatory Frameworks and Supervisory Measures for Legal Professionals to Mitigate Corruption-Related Money Laundering Risks (11 November 2022) 20. G20 ACWG Accountability Report (12 November 2022) 21. The G20 Joint Finance and Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting: G20 Presidency Chair’s Summary (Washington DC, 11 October 2022) 22. G20 Chair’s Summary Fourth G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (Washington DC, 12-13 October 2022) 23. Chair’s Summary Health Ministers’ Meeting: G20 Health Minister’s Action to Strengthen Global Health Architecture (Bali, 27-28 October 2022) a. The Lombok G20 One Health Policy Brief b. Call to Action on Financing for TB Response c. Call to Action on Antimicrobial Resistance 24. Chair’s Summary G20 Joint Finance-Health Ministers’ Meeting (Bali, 13 November 202

 

BP chief executive at COP 27 as Mauritania delegate

Paul Driessen: Escaping from the COP-27 insane asylum

Townhall, 12 November 2022

“Show us the money!” climate activists demand, and rich countries are expected to pony up. Do I hear $100 billion? Would you give $1 trillion? Now, then, would you give $2 trillion?

The climate reparations bidding war is on. What began at $100-billion-a-year at COP-21 in Paris rapidly ballooned to $1.3-trillion on the eve of COP-27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh-Down, Egypt and now stands at $2.4-trillion annually! And we’re nowhere near “going once, going twice…..sold.”

Of course, it was always about the money – endless sums of cash supposedly to help developing countries (like China!) adapt to dangerous manmade climate change, cover entire regions with wind and solar, and secure “fair, just and equitable” reparations for soaring temperatures, rising seas, destructive storms, floods, droughts and famines allegedly caused by countries that have used fossil fuels since 1850.

Yes, China. The Middle Kingdom has long postured itself as a developing country, when it comes to when it might start building fewer coal-fired power plants and slowly shift to “renewable” energy.

Now China says it will pay non-cash climate reparations, if the United States pays in dollars. Of course, any US, UK, German et cetera “fair share” would be exorbitant – and paid while they “transition” rapidly away from fossil fuels, regardless of the economic, social and ecological costs.

As Oliver Hardy would say, “Another fine mess you’ve gotten me into,” Joe, John and the rest of Team Biden’s climate-obsessed, fossil-fuel-eradicating, eco-justice warriors.

They and their activist, media and academia allies created the climate scare – the assertion that fossil fuel emissions alone are driving today’s climate and weather. Never mind that average global temperatures climbed significantly (Baruch Hashem) since the last Pleistocene ice age; sea levels rose some 400 feet; and floods, droughts, hurricanes and other disasters ravaged planet and humanity countless times. Anything happening today, however, is due to countries that got rich using fossil fuels. Or so they insist.

Therefore, naturally, COP-27 organizers, activists and attendees now say the “climate crisis” requires enormous payments from rich countries to poor countries – or more accurately, from poor people in rich countries to rich kleptocrats in poor countries. That raises another inconvenient truth.

Not long ago, Obama “science advisor” John Holdren intoned: “Only one rational path is open to us – simultaneous de-development of the [United States and other over-developed countries] and semi-development of the under-developed countries, in order to approach a decent and ecologically sustainable standard of living for all in between.” This de-development ideology is shared by many others.

Well, de-development and de-industrialization are already underway in Britain, Germany and elsewhere, because wind, solar and battery (WSB) energy cannot possibly replace abundant, reliable, affordable, non-weather-dependent fossil fuel and nuclear energy. Jobs, companies and entire industries are already disappearing across Europe, as it destroys fossil fuel power plants but has nothing viable to replace them.

So how are all these de-developing Formerly Rich Countries (FRCs) going to deliver billions or trillions annually, to pay climate reparations and help poor countries develop? They cannot possibly do so.

Even worse, eco-imperialist developed countries continue demanding that poor countries develop only to the minimal extent made possible with WSB technologies. Rich countries, the World Bank and global financial institutions also refuse to finance anything but pseudo-renewable energy.

These unconscionable policies perpetuate joblessness, poverty, disease and death – and advance the other basic goal of “climate stabilization” programs: controlling our lives and living standards. But poor nations have inalienable, God-given rights to develop, using fossil fuel, nuclear and hydroelectric power – and petroleum as feed stocks for fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, plastics and hundreds of other miraculous life-enhancing, life-saving products (developed by countries that are now expected to pay reparations).

Developed nations must help developing nations reach those goals. Instead, they too often block pathways to better lives. Still more outrageous, the USA and Europe have the nerve to ask African, Asian and Latin American nations to produce more oil and gas, but only for export to the USA and Europe!

Meanwhile, in Britain is setting up “warm rooms,” where people can go for a few hours a day, instead of freezing hungry and jobless in dark apartments. It’s as though Merry Old England has suddenly been transported back to the Middle Ages, by politicians who put climate virtue signaling above their constituents’ basic needs.

Meanwhile, Germany is dismantling an industrial wind power installation – so that it can extract the lignite coal underneath, to run generating plants, to keep factories operating and homes warm!

Even crazier, these are just a few examples of the insanity gripping the world’s political classes, especially during Conferences of Parties (COPs) on climate change. Happily, escaping this insane asylum requires little more than recognizing a few simple realities.

* The vast majority of nations signed the Paris climate treaty solely for the money – which they are now beginning to realize they will never receive. Moreover, coal, oil and natural gas still provide 82% of the world’s energy; nuclear, hydroelectric and biomass (wood and dung) provide most of humanity’s remaining energy needs, and less than 2% comes from wind and solar.

* Developing countries will be using fossil fuels for decades to come – and emitting more plant-fertilizing carbon dioxide in the process. Even if developed countries totally eliminated their fossil fuel use, atmospheric greenhouse gas levels will continue to climb.

* The 1.5 degrees C that we are supposed to avoid to avert catastrophe is arbitrary, meaningless – and tied not just to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, but to the end of the Little Ice Age. Another degree or two of warming would be mostly beneficial, whereas another little or big ice age would devastate agriculture, habitats and wildlife.

* The entire climate crisis agenda is based on computer models that (a) cannot possibly reflect all the forces that govern climate, and (b) consistently predict planetary warming that is two to three times greater than actually recorded by satellites, weather balloons and surface temperature monitors.

* Basing economy-destroying, life-altering policies on useless models is sheer insanity – especially if the replacement energy comes from WSB systems that would require mining, processing, manufacturing and installations on scales that would ravage our planet.

The only reason these realities are so little known is that climate activists, politicians, academics, and news and social media studiously demonize, censor, silence, deplatform and demonetize scientists, economists and energy experts who challenge climate crisis narratives.

Thankfully, the Truth will eventually win out. Perhaps that is already happening at COP-27.

Paul Driessen is senior policy advisor for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and author of books and articles on energy, climate change, environmental policy and human rights.’s chief executive has been in attendance at COP 27 as an official UN delegate for the west African nation Mauritania

 

Closure

20 November 2022

 The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 closed today with a breakthrough agreement to provide “loss and damage” funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters.

“This outcome moves us forward,” said Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary. “We have determined a way forward on a decades-long conversation on funding for loss and damage – deliberating over how we address the impacts on communities whose lives and livelihoods have been ruined by the very worst impacts of climate change.”

Set against a difficult geopolitical backdrop, COP27 resulted in countries delivering a package of decisions that reaffirmed their commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The package also strengthened action by countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change, as well as boosting the support of finance, technology and capacity building needed by developing countries.

Creating a specific fund for loss and damage marked an important point of progress, with the issue added to the official agenda and adopted for the first time at COP27.

Governments took the ground-breaking decision to establish new funding arrangements, as well as a dedicated fund, to assist developing countries in responding to loss and damage. Governments also agreed to establish a ‘transitional committee’ to make recommendations on how to operationalize both the new funding arrangements and the fund at COP28 next year. The first meeting of the transitional committee is expected to take place before the end of March 2023.

Parties also agreed on the institutional arrangements to operationalize the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage, to catalyze technical assistance to developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

COP27 saw significant progress on adaptation, with governments agreeing on the way to move forward on the Global Goal on Adaptation, which will conclude at COP28 and inform the first Global Stocktake, improving resilience amongst the most vulnerable. New pledges, totaling more than USD 230 million, were made to the Adaptation Fund at COP27. These pledges will help many more vulnerable communities adapt to climate change through concrete adaptation solutions. COP27 President Sameh Shoukry announced the Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda, enhancing resilience for people living in the most climate-vulnerable communities by 2030. UN Climate Change’s Standing Committee on Finance was requested to prepare a report on doubling adaptation finance for consideration at COP28 next year.

The cover decision, known as the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, highlights that a global transformation to a low-carbon economy is expected to require investments of at least USD 4-6 trillion a year. Delivering such funding will require a swift and comprehensive transformation of the financial system and its structures and processes, engaging governments, central banks, commercial banks, institutional investors and other financial actors.

Serious concern was expressed that the goal of developed country Parties to mobilize jointly USD 100 billion per year by 2020 has not yet been met, with developed countries urged to meet the goal, and multilateral development banks and international financial institutions called on to mobilize climate finance.

At COP27, deliberations continued on setting a ‘new collective quantified goal on climate finance’ in 2024, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries.

“In this text we have been given reassurances that there is no room for backsliding,” said Stiell. “It gives the key political signals that indicate the phasedown of all fossil fuels is happening.”

The World Leaders Summit, held over two days during the first week of the conference, convened six high-level roundtable discussions. The discussions highlighted solutions – on themes including food security, vulnerable communities and just transition – to chart a path to overcome climate challenges and how to provide the finance, resources and tools to effectively deliver climate action at scale.

COP27 brought together more than 45,000 participants to share ideas, solutions, and build partnerships and coalitions. Indigenous peoples, local communities, cities and civil society, including youth and children, showcased how they are addressing climate change and shared how it impacts their lives.

The decisions taken here today also reemphasize the critical importance of empowering all stakeholders to engage in climate action; in particular through the five-year action plan on Action for Climate Empowerment and the intermediate review of the Gender Action Plan. These outcomes will allow all Parties to work together to address imbalances in participation and provide stakeholders with the tools required to drive greater and more inclusive climate action at all levels.

Young people in particular were given greater prominence at COP27, with UN Climate Change’s Executive Secretary promising to urge governments to not just listen to the solutions put forward by young people, but to incorporate those solutions in decision and policy making. Young people made their voices heard through the first-of-its-kind pavilion for children and youth, as well as the first-ever youth-led Climate Forum.

In parallel with the formal negotiations, the Global Climate Action space at COP27 provided a platform for governments, businesses and civil society to collaborate and showcase their real-world climate solutions. The UN Climate Change High-Level Champions held a two-week programme of more than 50 events. This included a number of major African-led initiatives to cut emissions and build climate resilience, and significant work on the mobilization of finance.

“We have a series of milestones ahead. We must pull together, with resolve, through all processes, may they be national, regional, or others such as the G20. Every single milestone matters and builds momentum,” said Stiell. “The next step for change is just around the corner, with the United Arab Emirates’ stewardship of the First Global Stocktake. For the very first time we will take stock of the implementation of the Paris Agreement. It will independently evaluate the progress we have made and if our goals are adequate. It will inform what everybody, every single day, everywhere in the world, needs to do, to avert the climate crisis.”

Stiell reminded delegates in the closing plenary that the world is in a critical decade for climate action. A stark report from UN Climate Change underpinned his remarks, as well as discussions throughout the two-week conference. According to the report, implementation of current pledges by national governments put the world on track for a 2.5°C warmer world by the end of the century. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that greenhouse gas emissions must decline 45% by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

COP27 President Sameh Shoukry said: “The work that we’ve managed to do here in the past two weeks, and the results we have together achieved, are a testament to our collective will, as a community of nations, to voice a clear message that rings loudly today, here in this room and around the world: that multilateral diplomacy still works…. despite the difficulties and challenges of our times, the divergence of views, level of ambition or apprehension, we remain committed to the fight against climate change…. we rose to the occasion, upheld our responsibilities and undertook the important decisive political decisions that millions around the world expect from us.”

Speaking about the year ahead, Stiell said UN Climate Change will help Parties and future COP Presidencies to navigate this path to the new phase of implementation.

A summary of some of the other key outcomes of COP27 follows below.

Technology
COP27 saw the launch of a new five-year work program at COP27 to promote climate technology solutions in developing countries.

Mitigation
COP27 significantly advanced the work on mitigation. A mitigation work programme was launched in Sharm el-Sheikh, aimed at urgently scaling up mitigation ambition and implementation. The work programme will start immediately following COP27 and continue until 2030, with at least two global dialogues held each year. Governments were also requested to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their national climate plans by the end of 2023, as well as accelerate efforts to phasedown unabated coal power and phase-out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

The decision text recognizes that the unprecedented global energy crisis underlines the urgency to rapidly transform energy systems to be more secure, reliable, and resilient, by accelerating clean and just transitions to renewable energy during this critical decade of action.

Global Stocktake
Delegates at the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 wrapped up the second technical dialogue of the first global stocktake, a mechanism to raise ambition under the Paris Agreement. The UN Secretary-General will convene a ‘climate ambition summit’ in 2023, ahead of the conclusion of the stocktake at COP28 next year.

Snapshot of other announcements

The conference heard many announcements including:

1. Countries launched a package of 25 new collaborative actions in five key areas: power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture.
2. UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced a USD 3.1 billion plan to ensure everyone on the planet is protected by early warning systems within the next five years.
3. The UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments published a report at COP27, serving as a how-to guide to ensure credible, accountable net-zero pledges by industry, financial institutions, cities and regions.
4. The G7 in partnership with the V20 (‘the Vulnerable Twenty’) launched the Global Shield against Climate Risks, with new commitments of over USD 200 million as initial funding. Implementation is to start immediately in a range of pathfinder countries.
5. Announcing a total of USD 105.6 million in new funding, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Walloon Region of Belgium, stressed the need for even more support for the Global Environment Facility funds targeting the immediate climate adaptation needs of low-lying and low-income states.
6. The new Indonesia Just Energy Transition Partnership, announced at the G20 Summit held in parallel with COP27, will mobilize USD 20 billion over the next three to five years to accelerate a just energy transition.
7. Important progress was made on forest protection with the launch of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership, which aims to unite action by governments, businesses and community leaders to halt forest loss and land degradation by 2030.

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