The European Union has threatened to abandon the negotiations of the Climate Summit in Egypt (COP27) in the final stretch due to pressure from several countries to give up the objective of a maximum increase in temperatures of 1.5 degrees and due to the lack of agreement to create a "loss and damage" fund for the most vulnerable countries.


"We need to move forward, not back, and

we are prepared to walk out of the negotiations if we do not achieve an outcome that does justice to what the world expects

of us to address the climate crisis," said Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, after a practically suspenseful night.


Timmermans launched a challenge to the president of COP27, the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, given the general feeling that

it is the worst organized summit in the last 27 years,

since the first held in Berlin in 1995.

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"Some of the things we have heard in the last 12 hours are very worrying," said Timmermans, referring to the pressure to lower the commitments made in the Paris Agreement and in Glasgow.

"Even so, we believe that a positive result is still possible through Saturday."

The Third Vice President of the Government of Spain and Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, endorsed Timmermans' words and assured that the EU "prefers that there is no agreement rather than signing a bad agreement."


COP27 should have concluded on Friday, but as usual in climate summits, the conclusion has been delayed for at least one day in search of a consensus among the representatives of more than 195 countries that have been in the tourist enclave of Sharm for thirteen the Sheikh, in the Red Sea.

The 1.5 degree target remains


Sameh Shoukry tried to appease Timmermans by assuring that the COP27 text "keeps the 1.5 degree target alive, despite the EU's fears."

Shoukry, also personally criticized for his role as "facilitator" and for the opacity of the negotiations with the systematic suspension of press conferences) urged the delegates to step on the accelerator to close the agreement on Saturday.


"Countries now have to rise to the occasion," he

said.

"The world is watching and time is not on our side: we have to show flexibility and create an atmosphere where everyone can accommodate. There will never be a perfect solution."


Shoukry defended himself against criticism by claiming that he has become very personally involved in the negotiations, especially on the issue of "loss and damage", which has become the battlehorse of developing countries against rich countries.


The European Union tried to unblock the situation on Friday by announcing its support for the creation of the "loss and damage" fund for the most vulnerable countries and on the condition of having "a broad donor base."


The G77 group and China - the world's leading emitter of CO2 - expressed their reservations about the EU proposal, warning that it would exclude "many developing countries" from the fund.

The same objections were raised by the Arab countries.

The United States, initially opposed to the creation of the fund, has attended the final outcome from the sidelines.

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  • Articles Carlos Fresneda