Focus on Solutions Concludes COP27’s Thematic Days Program

UN Secretary General and COP27 President urge Parties to restore trust and deliver through much-needed agreements

COP27 Presidency convenes ministerial meetings on methane and first-ever ministerial meeting on urbanization and climate change at a COP

COP27 Presidency launched four initiatives during Solutions Day: SURGe focused on the development of Sustainable Cities; LOTUS was launched to push towards low-emission transportation systems; Friends of Greening National Investment Plans aims to support developing nations in their climate adaptation and mitigation plans; and finally, 50 by 2050 seeks to treat and recycle 50% of the solid waste produced in Africa by 2050.

A focus on solutions closed out COP27’s thematic days program with COP27 President H.E. Sameh Shoukry urging all Parties to go the extra mile and take the necessary steps to reach much-needed conclusions and agreements.

Joined by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, COP President Shoukry said: “While progress has been achieved on many issues, it is evidently clear that at this late stage of the COP27 process, there are still a number of issues, where progress remains lacking with persisting divergent views amongst Parties. While some of the discussions are constructive and positive, others do not reflect the expected recognition of the need to move collectively to address the gravity and urgency of the climate crisis. The world has become a stage for a continuously running show of human misery and pain. This needs to end now, not tomorrow.”

Earlier in the day, the agenda featured several sessions that drew attention to urbanization and climate change and ensuring thatcities around the world are part of climate solutions to accelerate multi-level action and bolder leadership to meet our goal of 1.5 Celsius degrees target by 2030. To this end, the COP27 Presidency, with the support of UN-Habitat, convened the first-ever Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change at a UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP). The Ministerial Meeting reinforced the commitment of the Paris Agreement and committed to accelerated climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation action and local climate finance, and focused on housing, urban development, and multi-level action in relation to climate change.

Four initiatives were launched

The meeting took place on “Solutions Day”, which concluded the thematic programming at COP27; a day when four initiatives were launched includingSustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation Initiative, Friends of Greening National Investment Plans in Africa and Developing Countries Initiative, Low Carbon Transport for Urban Sustainability InitiativeandGlobal Waste Initiative 50 by 2050.

The Methane Ministerial Meeting took place today,almost a year after the initial launch of the Global Methane Pledge at COP26. The meeting highlighted the crucial efforts needed to address methane emissions. The Global Methane Pledge comes as a welcomed initiative in this regard, with an ambitious aim of achieving at least a 30 percent reduction in global methane emissions by 2030, based on 2020 levels.

The Global Methane Pledge Energy Pathway provides an important platform for countries that have signed up to the pledge to share experiences and best practices, showcase commitments, and benefit from enhanced access to finance and technical support through bilateral and multilateral arrangements.

During the session, COP27 President H.E. Sameh Shoukry said: “Without fast, concrete, and concerted action to tackle methane emissions, achieving the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement will remain far from reach. The COP27 Presidency will continue to attract new signups and enhance the global collective effort to reduce methane emissions.”

Other sessions during the day included:

•Friends of Greening National Investment Plans in Africa and Developing Countriesdiscussed the need to re-define economic policies around factors that impact climate change, mitigation and adaptation.

•The First Egyptian Carbon Offsetting Company (EgyCOP)was launched today at COP27. The company aims to issue carbon credits to the private sector providing an innovative solution to aid Egypt’s efforts in combatting climate change.

•Multi-stakeholders Dialogue: An equitable transition towards sustainable urban transportunderscored the finance mechanisms needed for a sustainable and low-emission transport sector.

•The road from Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27) to World Urban Forum 2024 (WUF12) and African Cities 2025invited ministries and international organizations to come together to discuss the importance of COP27 to African cities. It also covered the link between climate change and sustainable urban development.

•1000+ Clean and Efficient Solutions to COP27session brought together innovators to share their experiences and knowledge on high impact climate-related solutions for cities and developing economies.

•The Building Green Businesses: From Climate Impact Start-ups to Companiespanel brought to the stage: entrepreneurs, business leaders and think tanks where they shared their success stories in delivering innovative and climate resilientsolutions.

Participants from around the world included ministers for Housing, Urban Development, Environment and Climate Change, representatives of local and regional governments,

academia, civil society, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, the private sector, urban networks, multilateral banks, UN agencies and intergovernmental organizations.

The Ministerial Meeting reinforced the commitment of the Paris Agreement for multi-level climate action and committed to accelerated climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation action and local climate finance.

Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation; Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat; Ambassador Ayman Tharwat Amin, COP27 Presidency, Arab Republic of Egypt; andDebra Roberts,coordinating lead author of the 2018 IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C delivered opening remarks.