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Introduction

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) underpins the global effort to address climate change. It provides the principal multilateral platform in which over 200 sovereign nations convene to negotiate and further commit to undertaking differentiated levels of actions to address climate change.

The 27^th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the UNFCCC is being hosted by the Egyptian Government in Sharm el-Sheikh and is scheduled to take place from 6 to 18 November 2022. COP27 will see the Egyptian Government officially serve as the COP President to chair and inspire climate actions at COP27 and for the year ahead. They take over from the UK’s COP26 Presidency (COP26 was held in Glasgow); and will serve as President until COP28 when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) assumes the role. COP28 is scheduled to be hosted in Dubai from 6 to 17 November 2023.

Australia’s role at COP

The Australian Government is a Party to the Convention (known as COP), the Kyoto Protocol (known as CMP) and the Paris Agreement (known as CMA). All three treaties have their own decision-making bodies with the COP, as the parent treaty, being the supreme decision-making authority for the operationalisation of all these climate treaties.

Australia’s national climate policy settings and actions are strongly influenced by its compliance obligations under the UNFCCC. Like all Parties to the Paris Agreement, Australia formally communicates its national emissions reduction pledges and reports on its climate policy pathways and progress through a mandated communication vehicle called a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

The Paris Agreement basically embodies three climate goals:

1. To reach the global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible (known as the short-term goal)

2. To hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (known as the medium-term goal)

3. To achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century or net zero emissions (known as the long-term goal).

Australia formally updated its NDC in mid-2022 increasing its economy-wide emissions reduction target from 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 to 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. 

What to expect at COP27

COP27 could well be a landmark meeting in the history of the international climate negotiations for the following reasons (among many others):

• It will finalise the Paris Agreement rule-book for international carbon markets (Article 6) as well as progress the adoption of a new global adaptation goal; and is expected to be one of, if not the largest of all COPs hosted in terms of number of participants (governments and non-state actors like Engineers Australia) – there are some 40,000 accredited registrations

• The COP is being branded as the “Implementation COP” on the back of COP26’s many announcements of globally significant initiatives and updated pledges – given the prevailing headwinds it is critically important there is no backsliding of current NDC commitments

• Safeguarding the Paris Agreement’s climate goals continues to be under pressure as reaffirmed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) recent findings in its Sixth Assessment Report

• It is taking place on the ‘eve’ of the so-called Global Stocktake which will report in late 2023 on the progress made (or otherwise) towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, and which will guide the next round of Party updates to emissions reduction commitments in 2025 for 2035

• It is convening at a time when the future of multilateralism including climate treaties, and the value of international rules-based systems more generally are being challenged by geo-political headwinds (Ukraine war, energy crisis, health of global financial systems, Russia’s future engagement as one of the world’s largest emitters in the UNFCCC as well as NATO, G8 etc).

Engineers Australia's interests in the COP

There are at least nine core agendas that Engineers Australia is particularly interested in including:

• The work of the main scientific advisory body to the negotiations called the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) and especially in regard to the Paris Agreement's rule-book (called modalities and procedures) and covering pretty much all of the UNFCCC's climate agendas   

• Influencing and leveraging the international mechanisms, funding arrangements and expertise to help mobilise the resources required to practice climate-responsible engineering, including: the Technology Mechanism, the Finance Mechanism (Green Climate Fund); the Warsaw Mechanism (loss and damage), market and non-market responses (Article 6), and response measures (including economic diversification and a just transition)

• The various 'global goals' that are being negotiated and supported including a new climate financing goal for developing countries, global adaptation goal, and of course climate matters complementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• Preparations for the Global Stocktake scheduled to take place at COP28 in 2023; and engineering engagement opportunities in these processes  

• Exploring how Engineers Australia can add value to and the shaping of relevant UNFCCC processes, including for example initiatives that shine a spotlight on the role of engineering such as the recently UN Secretary General established UN Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (see CEET)

• Embedding Engineers Australia as a UNFCCC recognised expert on engineering related matters and a trusted engineering voice in the business of the UNFCCC and its influential stakeholders

• Providing expert advice to Engineers Australia’s members on the current status of climate negotiations and how they affect the engineering profession

• Continuously and positively advocating the importance and integrity of the profession in helping deliver on the UNFCCC's objectives and Paris Agreement goals

• Continued expansion and evolution Engineers Australia’s climate network, partnerships and collaborations.

The diagram below provides a practical example (among many) of how Engineers Australia might look to help make a difference in the business of the COP by providing a real-world engineering ‘network’ to not only support the deployment and diffusion of engineering technologies and systems, especially in developing countries, but also in helping to legitimise and firm business cases and help secure the funding required to make it happen.

Source: Mark Bonner

It is clear that the value of many of the elements considered necessary in the development, transfer and deployment of critical climate-relevant technologies aligns well with Engineers Australia's technical competencies, strengths and ambitions.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Mark Bonner ([email protected]) if you are interested in understanding more about the national and international climate agendas; or visit the Climate Smart Engineering Initiative’s Information Hub on EAXchange.