How will projects aimed at mitigating climate change, adapting to environmental disturbances, and compensating for damage be financed? This existential threat to humanity will shape the upcoming period, with COP27 scheduled to take place in Egypt in November.
This was stated in a telematics press briefing by Wael Abulmagd, the special representative of the COP27 presidency. He emphasized that the meeting would center on the idea of moving from talks to action and from promises to real on the ground steps. The aim is clear: implement, not merely negotiate, and translate commitments into tangible results.
Abulmagd remarked that projections point to significant economic impacts by mid-century. By 2050, climate change could trim the global economy by about 4 percent, with the burden skewed toward less developed regions. Additionally, extreme temperatures already contribute to millions of premature deaths annually. These figures underscore the urgency of accelerated action and pragmatic financing to close the gap between pledges and delivery.
Six years after the Paris Agreement established a framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the focus now shifts to operationalizing those commitments. The message is consistent: the time has come to move from negotiation to implementation, from promises to concrete actions that communities can feel and governments must enforce. The next COP27 axis centers on turning agreements into funded projects that drive real adaptation alongside mitigation.
Sharm El Sheikh, a resort city on the Red Sea coast, will host COP27 from November 6 to 18. The conference will stress the importance of private sector involvement in determining financing streams for both mitigation efforts and, crucially, adaptation measures. The goal is to design financial mechanisms that attract substantial private capital and mobilize trillions of dollars for climate initiatives.
There is a call for creative approaches to designing climate finance. The private sector needs encouragement to step up, invest boldly, and back projects that can attract large-scale private funding for climate action. The emphasis is on practicality, scale, and the catalytic role of private finance in accelerating progress on the ground.
Abulmagd acknowledged that the ongoing war in Ukraine could influence COP27 by introducing tensions among participants. He warned that geopolitical frictions might be used as a reason to withhold promised funding and impede collaboration. The path forward, he argued, requires parties to set aside differences and pursue ambitious, responsible cooperation to address a global crisis that affects everyone equally.
In this spirit, he urged all delegations to engage with a sense of shared responsibility toward vulnerable communities and to pursue ambitious targets that reflect the scale of the challenge. The aim is to secure financial commitments that unlock real projects, strengthen resilience, and support nations at varying levels of development in adapting to climate impacts while transitioning toward a low carbon economy.