US envoy John Kerry stalls COP27 COVID-19

• John Kerry tested positive for COVID-19 at UN climate negotiations.
• Negotiators were trying to break a deadlock over aid for developing nations.
• Kerry’s illness has slowed negotiations.

John Kerry tested positive for COVID-19 at UN climate negotiations in Egypt when negotiators were trying to break a deadlock over aid for developing nations hit by natural disasters.

Kerry’s illness has slowed negotiations, which were supposed to end on Friday but haven’t.

COP27 discussions in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, have stalled over “loss and damage” money for less developed countries to deal with climate change.

“He’s fully vaccinated and has mild symptoms. Kerry’s spokesperson Whitney Smith said he’s working by phone with his team and foreign counterparts to ensure a successful COP27.

Loss and destruction remain the key sticking point between rich and poor nations, especially how to compensate countries destroyed by climate-driven floods, droughts, mega-storms, and wildfires.

Friday evening’s news conferences and plenaries halted public negotiations. Diplomats adjusted flight tickets for Saturday’s extra talks, hoping for a late-night resolution.

David Waskow, International Climate Director at World Resources Institute, predicts a long road ahead.

Loss and damage are key to finishing the job, he said.

Nearly 200 countries have assembled in Egypt for two weeks to advance climate change action as weather extremes worsen.

For many vulnerable countries, loss and destruction are the conference’s defining problem, and some claim its success depends on a special fund.

Richer countries have agreed that countries in the crosshairs of increasingly severe climate-driven disasters require monetary aid. They urged for more donors and prioritized climate-vulnerable countries as recipients.

Industrialized countries want to focus on other topics, such as emissions-cutting objectives and repeating a target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, which experts think is a safer guardrail to prevent the most devastating climate effects.

Floods in Pakistan and Nigeria, heatwaves, and droughts around the world have highlighted the brutal effects of a warming planet on emerging economies and small island states endangered by rising sea levels.

The Group of 77 and China alliance of 134 developing countries proposed a loss and damage fund this week. Operational specifics will be established later.

Pakistan’s Climate Minister Sherry Rehman told delegates Friday they are eager to “reach common ground” on the proposed fund.

Late Thursday, the European Union proposed a fund for the most vulnerable nations, saying the money should come from a “wide donor base” – a code for China and Saudi Arabia, which have become wealthier since being classed as poor nations in 1992.

“This is our final offer,” EU Vice President Frans Timmermans said Friday.

Even with increased promises, the world will warm by roughly 2.5C by the end of the century, scientists warn.

As negotiations continue through the final hours of the conference, #COP27 President Sameh Shoukry and Ghanaian climate activist @nakeeyat urge the world to act decisively and swiftly in favour of #ClimateAction.#TogetherForImplementation pic.twitter.com/tMjZRQAMns

— COP27 (@COP27P) November 18, 2022

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