Cop27: Urgent action needed to cut lives lost to air pollution, WHO chief warns

Urgent action must be taken to tackle the increasing death toll caused by air pollution, the director of public health and environment at the World Health Organization has said.

Dr Maria Neira told The Independent at Cop27 that mayors could either continue to oversee congested, traffic-filled cities and bare the responsibility of more people dying, or accelerate the transition to green transport systems to significantly reduce mortality from air pollution.

“How much are you prepared to have on your shoulders the responsibility for those deaths?” she said.

Dr Neira said the World Health Organization can measure the positive impact cutting air pollution can have on the number of lives lost.

“We can tell you how many lives you’re saving,” she said. “It’s up to you to be very ambitious in deciding how many people you want to save.”

Outside the conference centre in Egypt on Wednesday morning, protesters demanded climate compensation and an end to fossil fuel use as negotiations on how to tackle the climate crisis get underway on the summit’s Finance Day.

Key Points

• China 'willing to contribute to climate loss and damage compensation'

• Oil and gas emissions ‘up to three times higher than companies claim’

• ‘We’re not in a climate crisis’, says former Brexit minister David Frost

• UN ‘should set 2040 net zero plastic target'

• Protesters demand action as Finance Day gets underway

Pakistan flood survivors urge more climate compensation

Tuesday 8 November 2022 13:32 , Aisha Rimi

“What goes on in Pakistan won’t stay in Pakistan”’ – that’s the bleak message Islamabad is displaying on its pavilion set up at the red sea town of Sharm el-Sheikh where leaders from around the world have gathered for the United Nations climate summit.

It’s a reminder that climate disasters, and their impact, aren’t limited to poor countries and now is the time to act. This year’s UN summit, called the 27th Conference of Parties or Cop27, is being held as the world faces a number of interconnected crises: the warming climate, food shortages, sky-high energy prices, and the Russian war on Ukraine.

But as the leaders from over a hundred countries gathered at the resort town on Monday, all eyes were on Shahbaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan, as he described the summer floods that caused at least $40 billion in damage and displaced millions of people, driving the renewed focus on climate compensation at this year’s conference.

Stuti Mishra has more:

‘Paying the price for inaction’: Pakistan flood survivors urge climate compensation

‘Rank deception’ UN chief slams corporate greenwashing at Cop27

Tuesday 8 November 2022 13:47 , Aisha Rimi

The UN Secretary-General has urged zero tolerance for net-zero ‘greenwashing’ – where corporations celebrate their ethical and environmental initiatives to divert attention from more dubious activities.

António Guterres praised the growing number of governments and organisations pledging to be carbon-free but says bogus ‘net-zero’ pledges to cover up fossil fuel expansion are “reprehensible”.

Samuel Webb has more:

‘Rank deception’ UN chief slams corporate greenwashing at Cop27

Germany can’t ask global south not to want more affluence, says Chancellor

Tuesday 8 November 2022 14:02 , Aisha Rimi

Germany can’t ask countries in the global south not to want the same level of affluence as developed countries, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz, but it can work on technologies that will help these countries grow their economies in a climate-friendly way.

That will only succeed through technology developed by Germany that makes it possible for a country to become a successful, industrialised country without harming the climate, saidMr Scholz on the sidelines of the COP27 climate summit.

WTO chief seeks to revive green trade talks

Tuesday 8 November 2022 14:17 , Aisha Rimi

The head of the World Trade Organisation aims to revive negotiations on a global environmental trade deal as part of efforts to give the trade watchdog a bigger role in tackling the climate crisis.

Talks on scrapping tariffs and other trade barriers on goods such as solar panels or smart-heating controls that can address climate change are seen as an important step towards cutting the cost of environmental protection.

But WTO discussions collapsed in 2016 after disagreements between China and Western countries about which products should be on the environmental list.

“We would like to see the revival of an environmental goods and services agreement,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters on the sidelines of the climate summit late on Monday.

She said the talks should also be expanded to include services. These could include air pollution mitigation or wastewater treatment.

“You need to have a friendly trade regime for renewables and other environmentally-friendly products,” she said, noting tariffs for fossil fuel products are lower than for renewables in many countries.

‘Let us not take the highway to hell’, says EU chief

Tuesday 8 November 2022 14:52 , Aisha Rimi

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged countries to hasten action on climate change at the climate summit on Tuesday.

“The global fossil fuel crisis must be a game changer. So let us not take the ‘highway to hell’ but let’s earn the clean ticket to heaven,” she said, echoing remarks by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday.

In a separate statement, European Council President Charles Michel said that Russia had chosen to make energy “a weapon of mass destabilisation.”

Israeli and Lebanese leaders pledge to work together at climate summit

Tuesday 8 November 2022 15:05 , Aisha Rimi

Israel’s environmental protection minister attended a regional meeting on Tuesday alongside Iraqi and Lebanese leaders at Cop27, the minister’s office said, where the group pledged to work together to tackle climate change.

Israel is still officially at war with Lebanon, fighting a war against the militant Shiite Hezbollah in 2006, and Israel and Iraq have no diplomatic relations and a history of hostilities.

While Lebanon and Israel recently signed a landmark, US-brokered maritime agreement, any hint that the two states are open to cooperating even as part of a regional setting would be meaningful. Lebanon bans its citizens from having any contact with Israelis and the sea deal was negotiated through American shuttle diplomacy, with no Israeli or Lebanese officials ever publicly meeting.

According to a statement from Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg, the meeting took place as part of a regional forum of eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries.

The agreement by the member countries said the parties would work to “strengthen regional cooperation” and “act in a coordinated way” on climate change.“

The countries of the region share the warming and drying climate and just as they share the problems they can and must share the solutions. No country can stand alone in the face of the climate crisis,” Zandberg said in the statement.

Mikati’s office played down the incident, saying it was being overblown in Israeli media.

It said the meeting was called for by the presidents of Egypt and Cyprus and was attended by a large number of Arab and international officials like other meetings at the climate change conference. “There was no contact whatsoever with any Israeli official,” it said.

Associated Press

UK pledges support to ramp up offshore wind energy at Cop27

Tuesday 8 November 2022 15:22 , Aisha Rimi

Nine countries including the UK have joined an organisation pledging to ramp up offshore wind production to tackle the energy and climate crisis.

Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and the US have joined the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) at Cop27, to work together to remove barriers to the development of offshore wind.

The alliance has been initiated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Denmark, and the Global Wind Energy Council and will bring together governments, the private sector, and international organisations to accelerate the deployment of offshore wind power, GOWA claims.

Samuel Webb has more:

Wind power: UK pledges support to ramp up offshore wind energy at Cop27

In pictures: Day two at the UN climate summit

Tuesday 8 November 2022 16:15 , Aisha Rimi

Exclusive: Disappearing nation urges world to stop funding trips to Mars and save sinking island

Tuesday 8 November 2022 16:45 , Aisha Rimi

While billionaires spend eyewatering sums to go to Mars the Marshall Islands can’t secure international funding to save the country from a climate disaster, its minister of natural resources has warned.

“There’s these billionaires that are building rocket ships to go to Mars... All we’re asking is give us the money to make sure the Marshall Islands can continue … to exist in the world,” John Silk told The Independent at the Cop27 summit in Egypt. “We’re talking about a nation that is on the brink of disappearing.”

Saphora Smith has more:

Sinking nation urges world to stop funding Mars trips and save island

China climate envoy says Beijing committed to carbon neutrality

Tuesday 8 November 2022 17:17 , Aisha Rimi

China’s special climate envoy Xie Zhenhua has said that Beijing is committed to reaching carbon neutrality and believed multilateralism and cooperation are key to solving global climate change.

“No matter how much the external environment changes, and no matter how many challenges we face, China has firm determination to achieve this vision of carbon neutrality,” he told delegates at the climate summit.

Reuters

UK to provide climate funding for African countries

Tuesday 8 November 2022 17:47 , Aisha Rimi

The UK will significantly increase its financial support to African countries on the frontline of climate change, said the foreign secretary.

Speaking at the climate conference, James Cleverly confirmed the UK will provide £200 million to the African Development Bank (AfDB)’s Climate Action Window (CAW).

The CAW is a new initiative set up to channel climate finance to help vulnerable countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Mr Cleverly said: “Climate change is having a devastating impact on countries in Sub-Saharan Africa facing drought and extreme weather patterns, which have historically received a tiny proportion of climate finance.

This new mechanism from the African Development Bank will see vital funds delivered to those most affected by the impacts of climate change, much more quickly.

“Lack of access to climate finance for the world’s poorest countries was a central focus at COP26 in Glasgow. This £200 million of UK funding is helping us to make tangible progress to address this issue.”

Journalists covering Just Stop Oil protest ‘arrested and held for 13 hours’

Tuesday 8 November 2022 18:17 , Aisha Rimi

A journalist covering Just Stop Oil protests on the M25 has claimed he was arrested along with a photographer and held for 13 hours in a police station.

Rich Felgate, who is making a documentary about the climate group, said he was handcuffed and taken away by officers while filming the action on a public footbridge in Hertfordshire on Monday.

Photographer Tom Bowles said he was also arrested and claimed police searched his house while he was in custody.

Zoe Tidman has more:

Journalists covering Just Stop Oil protest ‘arrested and held for 13 hours’

Watch: Barbados PM talks about ‘moral strategic leadership’ for young people

Tuesday 8 November 2022 19:02 , Aisha Rimi

What are world leaders saying at the climate summit?

Tuesday 8 November 2022 19:37 , Aisha Rimi

Here are some of the latest comments from world leaders at Cop27:

Xie Zhenhua, China climate envoy

“No matter how much the external environment changes, and no matter how many challenges we face, China has firm determination to achieve this vision of carbon neutrality.”

Rumen Radev, President of Bulgaria

“Given our commitment to advancing the climate agenda in our region and beyond, Bulgaria has already indicated willingness to host COP29.”

Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela

“Venezuela is responsible for less than 0.4 per cent of world emissions of greenhouse gasses. Notwithstanding this, our people must pay the consequences of this imbalance created by the main capitalist economies of the world who have contaminated the planet for the benefit of just a few.”

Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President of Suriname

“We are, in fact, climate negative. But despite this, we are highly climate vulnerable ... Ladies and gentlemen, promises made must be kept. Therefore, on behalf of all children and the next generation we urgently call on historic emitters to do their part to safeguard out world. My country is doing our part with the limited resources and capacity.”

Mark Brown, Prime Minister of The Cook Islands

“It is up to the G20 countries responsible for 80 per cent of global emissions that we are beholden to for our survival.

“Our survival is being held to ransom at the cost of profit and an unwillingness to act despite the ability to do so.”

UN chief slams corporate greenwashing at Cop27

Tuesday 8 November 2022 20:09 , Aisha Rimi

The UN Secretary-General has urged zero tolerance for net-zero ‘greenwashing’ – where corporations celebrate their ethical and environmental initiatives to divert attention from more dubious activities

António Guterres praised the growing number of governments and organisations pledging to be carbon-free but says bogus ‘net-zero’ pledges to cover up fossil fuel expansion are “reprehensible”.

He said: “The problem is that the criteria and benchmarks for these net-zero commitments have varying levels of rigour and loopholes wide enough to drive a diesel truck through.

Samuel Webb has more:

‘Rank deception’ UN chief slams corporate greenwashing at Cop27

Brazil’s president-elect Lula pledges to save Amazon

Tuesday 8 November 2022 20:40 , Aisha Rimi

Among the biggest draws at the Cop27 summit in Egypt is a world leader who doesn’t take office until January. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives in Sharm el-Sheikh after winning a momentous election in Brazil with huge implications for the Amazon rainforest – the “lungs of the planet” – which has suffered severe depredation under hard-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula is expected to have meetings with, among others, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, all of whom were quick to congratulate him on his win.

Bolsonaro declared when elected in 2019 that Brazil would not host Cop25 as scheduled, and did not turn up for Cop 26 in Glasgow last year after facing international condemnation over Amazon deforestation.

Kim Sengupta has more:

Lula brings cheer to Cop27 with pledge to save Amazon

Mexico to raise climate emissions target for first time since 2016

Tuesday 8 November 2022 21:13 , Aisha Rimi

Mexico will raise its target to unconditionally cut greenhouse gas emissions to 30 per cent below usual levels by 2030 at this year’s COP27 climate summit, its environment ministry said in a statement, lifting its previous target of 22 per cent.

Latin America’s second-biggest greenhouse gas emitter will also raise its target for conditional emission cuts – a goal dependent on external support – to 40 per cent from 36 per cent.

Last year, Mexico pledged to expand its climate goals after research coalition Climate Action Tracker warned that emissions could actually rise under targets unchanged since 2016.

Climate Action Tracker had rated Mexico’s previous goals “highly insufficient”, noting the Paris Climate deal requires countries to progressively raise their percentage reduction targets to offset rising levels of overall emissions.

The ministry said Mexico would maintain its target to unconditionally cut “black carbon” emissions by 51 per cent, or 70 per cent depending on external conditions.

Black carbon is the sooty material emitted from coal plants and diesel engines, but Climate Action Tracker said its effect as an additional metric was “negligible” since it comes largely from the same sources as CO2.

Mexico’s environment ministry said it had identified measures to cut an estimated 88.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually by 2030, including more industrial regulation, zero-emission vehicles, rail transport, remote working, and creating more natural reserves.

Reuters

UN warns Egypt hunger striker’s life in danger as family seek information

Tuesday 8 November 2022 21:45 , Aisha Rimi

The family of jailed Egyptian-British hunger striker Alaa Abd el-Fattah has said they had not heard from him since he had been due to stop drinking water two days ago, and the United Nations human rights chief warned his life was in great danger.

Mr Abd el-Fattah’s mother said she had waited for a second day outside the jail northwest of Cairo where he is being held to receive a weekly letter from him, but got nothing. Prison officials said he was refusing to send out a letter, she said.

“We don’t know where he is. We don’t know if he’s alive,” Mr Abd el-Fattah’s sister Sanaa Seif told journalists at the summit.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for the immediate release of Abd el-Fattah who he said was “in great danger.”

“His dry hunger strike puts his life at acute risk,” Turk said.

Asked whether there was a risk he may have already died, given the lack of communication, Volk’s spokesperson said in Geneva: “We are very concerned for his health and there is a lack of transparency as well around his current condition.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who attended the COP27 climate talks on Monday, told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that he hoped to see the issue resolved as soon as possible.

However, Seif said Britain had not replied to her request for proof that her brother was alive.

“I asked the British authorities to get us some proof that Alaa is alive and conscious, I did not get any response.”

No ‘beam me up, Scotty’ climate answers, Barbados PM Mottley tells Cop youth

Tuesday 8 November 2022 22:13 , Aisha Rimi

Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley warned she was going “to say some things that you may not love” as she cautioned that there is no easy solution to the climate crisis on the opening day of the first ever children and young people’s space at Cop27.

The country’s first female leader has gained superstar status in the climate movement after her plain-spoken address to world leaders at last year’s Cop26 in Glasgow. She told the leaders of rich countries at the time that their failures were a “death sentence” to small islands and developing nations.

This year, she is a leading voice calling for better funding from developed nations and the fossil fuel industry to help vulnerable countries with the losses they suffer due to the effects of the climate crisis.

Louise Boyle has more:

No ‘Beam me up, Scotty’ climate answers, Mia Mottley tells Cop27 youth

Egypt lifts ban on Human Rights Watch website

Tuesday 8 November 2022 22:46 , Andy Gregory

Human Rights Watch has said that Egyptian authorities have lifted their ban on its website which has been in place for the past five years, since the rights group released a report on allegations of abuses against dissidents.

“While unblocking Human Rights Watch’s website is a positive move, many other news and human rights websites expressing criticism remain blocked and inaccessible,” said Adam Coogle, the group’s deputy regional director.

Mr Coogle called for the government to end “censorship of all media and civil society groups.”

Chants of ‘free Alaa’ at human rights panel event featuring jailed British activist’s sister

Tuesday 8 November 2022 23:18 , Andy Gregory

Activists have chanted in support of jailed rights activist Alaa Abdel-Fattah during an event tonight at which his youngest sister Sanaa Seif took part in a panel on Egypt’s human rights situation.

The group shouted “free Alaa” and wore T-shirts bearing the same message – however voices were also heard from the crowd seeking to defame and discredit the prominent pro-democracy activist as “a terrorist”.

Mr Abdel-Fattah is on a hunger and water strike in prison, and his family are pleading with British and Egyptian authorities for proof that he is still alive.

At the event, leading rights defender Hossam Bahgat condemned Mr Adbel-Fattah’s detention and spoke out against president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s policies and Egypt’s continued crackdown on dissent.

His harsh criticism prompted some pro-government attendees to shout at him. Some were seen holding a sign with slogans accusing Mr Abdel-Fattah of being a criminal.

Dr Agnes Callamard, secretary general at Amnesty International, and Tirana Hassan, acting Executive Director at Human Rights Watch, were also on the panel.

‘No effective climate policy without peace’, says Zelensky

Tuesday 8 November 2022 23:51 , Andy Gregory

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of hampering international efforts against climate breakdown with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, during a video address at Cop27.

The Ukrainian president alleged that Russia’s war has led to the destruction of five million acres of forest, and blamed the war for sending fossil fuel prices skyrocketing worldwide, forcing “dozens of countries to resume coal-fired power generation in order to lower energy prices for their people”.

Referring to concerns about the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Mr Zelensky asked fellow leaders: “Who will care, for example, about the amount of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere if part of Europe or the Middle East and possibly northern Africa, God forbid, are covered by radiation cloud after an accident in Zaporizhzhia?”

Mr Zelensky appealed to other governments to help “stop those who, with their insane and illegal war, are destroying the world’s ability to work united for a common goal”, adding: “There can be no effective climate policy without peace on Earth.”

UK export credit agency to offer ‘climate-resilient’ loans

00:54 , Andy Gregory

The UK’s export credit agency has said it will become the world’s first to offer “climate-resilient” loans to support countries most vulnerable to the impacts of global heating.

UK Export Finance (UKEF) will offer loans which include the option to defer debt repayments in the event of catastrophes, the Treasury has announced, with details of the plan to be given in Eygypt.

“I am proud that UK Export Finance is the first export credit agency in the world to offer loans which suspend debt service payments for countries hit by climate catastrophes and natural disasters,” junior finance minister James Cartlidge said.

The proposals would allow vulnerable countries to defer debt repayments to free up resources to fund disaster relief, the ministry said.

Cop27 talks have ‘kicked off quite well’, says Germany’s climate envoy

01:53 , Andy Gregory

Cop27 talks “have kicked off quite well” after a potential fight over the agenda was averted when countries agreed to formally debate the issue of financial support to poor nations for the loss and damage they suffer due to climate breakdown, Germany’s climate envoy Jennifer Morgan has said.

Ms Morgan expressed hopes there will be a “meaningful outcome” on the issue at the two-week talks as well as countries setting out more ambitious targets for cutting emissions and agreeing ways to ensure money flowing toward combating global warming is in line with the targets of the 2015 Paris accord.

“The most vulnerable nations [should] know that we stand side by side with them and that there will be more support just there for them when these damages occur,” she told The Associated Press. “How that will look exactly, that’s the negotiation here.”

No ‘free pass’: Antigua and Barbuda PM tells Cop27 India and China must pay for loss and damage

02:57 , Andy Gregory

My colleague Stuti Mishra reports from Sharm el-Sheikh:

India and China must pay climate compensations alongside other major polluters, the alliance for small island states has said during the ongoing UN climate summit.

Speaking to reporters including The Independent at the Cop27 venue on Tuesday evening, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, who is also the chair for Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), called for all major polluters to pay towards the proposed climate compensations referred to as ‘loss and damage’ in the negotiations.

“We all know that India and China ... are major polluters and the polluters must pay,” PM Gaston Browne said. “I don’t think that there’s any free pass for any country.”

Antigua and Barbuda PM tells Cop27 India and China must pay for loss and damage

Pakistan flood survivors urge more climate compensation

03:49 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

“What goes on in Pakistan won’t stay in Pakistan”’ – that’s the bleak message Islamabad is displaying on its pavilion set up at the red sea town of Sharm el-Sheikh where leaders from around the world have gathered for the United Nations climate summit.

It’s a reminder that climate disasters, and their impact, aren’t limited to poor countries and now is the time to act.

This is the first time the UN climate negotiations included Loss and Damage - a technical term referring to the irreparable losses communities around the world are suffering because of the climate crisis - as an agenda item to be discussed at the two-week summit.

Farooq Sayyad, a 22-year-old student from Pakistan’s impoverished Balochistan province who is attending the UN climate summit for the first time says he has no idea what the loss and damage fund is, but shares that his community is still living underwater from the massive flooding in August.

Stuti Mishra reports from Sharm el-Sheikh.

‘Paying the price for inaction’: Pakistan flood survivors urge climate compensation

Watch: Barbados PM talks about ‘moral strategic leadership’ for young people

03:59 , Andy Gregory

04:05 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Sinking nation urges billionaires to stop funding trips to MarsWhile billionaires spend eye-watering sums to go to Mars, the Marshall Islands can’t secure international funding to save the country from a climate disaster, its minister of natural resources has warned.

“There’s these billionaires that are building rocket ships to go to Mars... All we’re asking is give us the money to make sure the Marshall Islands can continue ... to exist in the world,” John Silk told The Independent at the Cop27 summit in Egypt.

“We’re talking about a nation that is on the brink of disappearing.”Mr Silk said his country became an independent nation in 1979 and since then has faced the prospect that it may not exist in the decades to come because of rising sea levels. “Where do you go?” he asked.

Saphora Smith reports from Sharm el-Sheikh.

Sinking nation urges billionaires to stop funding Mars trips and save island

Putin’s war in Ukraine has ‘destroyed 5 million acres of forest’

04:13 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Russia’s war in Ukraine has destroyed 5 million acres of forests in less than six months, president Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN’s Cop27 climate summit.

Addressing delegates in Egypt in a video message, the Ukrainian president accused Russia of hampering and distracting from global efforts to combat climate breakdown – warning that “there can be no effective climate policy without peace on Earth”.

As world leaders grapple with how to control the fossil fuel emissions heating our planet, Mr Zelensky alleged that the energy crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion has “forced dozens of countries to resume coal-fired power generation in order to lower energy prices for their people”.

Andy Gregory has more.

Putin’s war has destroyed 5 million acres of forest, Zelensky tells Cop27

Greta Thunberg urges Egyptian authorities to release Briton

04:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Climate activist Greta Thunberg joined activists in calling for the release of British-Egyptian writer Alaa-Abdel Fattah who has been held unlawfully at a prison in Egypt.

The pro-democracy activist has stopped drinking water in protest.

“During Cop27, we urge the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those held simply for peacefully exercising their human rights, implementing criteria set by local NGOs for these releases: fairness, transparency, inclusiveness and urgency,” Ms Thunberg said in a tweet yesterday.

“One of these prisoners is Alaa-Abdel Fattah, who is now on a water strike since the beginning of Cop27.

“A system that doesn’t address the needs for climate justice and securing human rights is a system that has failed everyone,” she added.

“Human rights and climate movements are stronger when we stand in solidarity together.”

New Zealand pledges $12m to fund climate damage in developing nations

05:12 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The New Zealand government on Wednesday announced it was allocating $12m of climate funding for developing nations.

Foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta said the country’s decision to pledge the amount for loss and damage funds placed New Zealand at the leading edge of wealthy countries.

“International negotiations have in the past struck difficulties regarding calls for climate finance to deal with loss and damage, as some countries are concerned over what it means for liability and compensation,” Ms Mahuta said.

Egyptian MP removed from Cop27 for heckling jailed Briton’s sister

05:36 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

An Egyptian lawmaker was escorted out of a news conference about jailed British-Egyptian national Alaa-Abdel Fattah when he started heckling her sister.

Sanaa Seif, the sister of the prisoner who is on a water strike, was speaking at an event at Cop27 when lawmaker Amr Darwish stood up and started shouting at her.

Ms Seif was calling for her 40-year-old brother’s release, who activists fear would live only for a few more days. She told reporters that she has asked British authorities to obtain proof that her brother is “alive and conscious”, but did not receive any response.

The Egyptian lawmaker then questioned why the family describes Mr Fattah as a political prisoner and accused his family of resorting to foreign pressure.

When Ms Seif tried to answer, the politician refused to hand her the microphone and was escorted by UN security officials.

While being taken away from the conference, he said: “You are here on Egyptian land, don’t touch me.”

Stoltenberg says Nato must address security impact of climate change

05:59 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The secretary general of Nato said the military alliance must address the link between climate change and security.

“Climate change creates conflicts, it exacerbates conflicts,” Jens Stoltenberg told the Cop27 climate summit via a video linkup yesterday.

Climate change increases competition over scarce resources and impacts military operations, he said, adding that armed forces have to be part of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Developing countries need $1 trillion a year in climate finance - report

06:42 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Developing countries need to secure $1 trillion a year in external financing for climate action by the end of the decade and to match that with their own funds, according to a new report.

The report, released ahead of talks on climate change at the Cop27 summit in Egypt on Tuesday, said the funding was required to cut emissions, boost resilience, deal with damage from climate change and restore nature and land.

“The world needs a breakthrough and a new roadmap on climate finance that can mobilise the $1 trillion in external finance that will be needed by 2030 for emerging markets and developing countries other than China,” said the report, commissioned by the current and previous climate summit hosts, Egypt and Britain.

It said the total annual investment requirement of developing countries would hit $2.4 trillion by 2030, with half coming from external financing.

Current investment stands at around $500m, the report stated.

Lula brings Brazil back into climate fold with pledge to save Amazon

07:02 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Among the biggest draws at the Cop27 summit in Egypt is a world leader who doesn’t take office until January.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives in Sharm el-Sheikh after winning a momentous election in Brazil with huge implications for the Amazon rainforest – the “lungs of the planet” – which has suffered severe depredation under hard-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula is expected to have meetings with, among others, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, all of whom were quick to congratulate him on his win.

There was a collective breath of relief among those concerned about the climate emergency at the departure of Bolsonaro, on whose watch Brazil’s emissions increased by 12 percent last year alone.

In the past 12 months, deforestation in the Amazon increased by 64 per cent, affecting an area almost twice as large as New York City – on top of the loss of an area larger than Belgium in his first two years in power.

Kim Sengupta reports from Sao Paulo.

Lula brings cheer to Cop27 with pledge to save Amazon

African countries facing ‘economic devastation’

07:09 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

African countries face “economic devastation” from climate change, an aid agency has warned as it reveals the scale of the hit from rising temperatures on the continent.

A study published by Christian Aid warns under current climate policies, which put the world on track for 2.7C of global warming by the end of the century, African countries face an average 20 per cent hit to their expected GDP by 2050.

That figure could rise to a 64 per cent hit to GDP by 2100, according to the study, launched on finance day at the Cop27 talks in Sharm El-Sheikh where finance for poor countries hit by climate impacts is a key demand from many nations.

Emily Beament has more.

African countries face ‘economic devastation’ from climate hit to GDP

What is Cop27 and why does it matter?

08:06 , Sam Rkaina

Cop27, the next instalment of the global climate change conference, is underway in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Led by Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry until 18 November – with environment minister Yasmine Fouad serving as the event’s ministerial coordinator and envoy – the summit follows last year’s gathering in Glasgow.

It once more unites world leaders, climate organisations and activists to thrash out the big questions about safeguarding the future of our planet.

But why does it matter and what will it achieve?

Click here for the full story.

No ‘Beam me up, Scotty’ solution on climate, Barbados PM says

08:45 , Sam Rkaina

Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley warned she was going “to say some things that you may not love” as she cautioned that there is no easy solution to the climate crisis on the opening day of the first ever children and young people’s space at Cop27.

The country’s first female leader, who was re-elected in a landslide victory earlier this year, has gained superstar status in the climate movement after her plain-spoken address to world leaders at last year’s Cop26 in Glasgow. She told the leaders of rich countries at the time that their failures were a “death sentence” to small islands and developing nations.

This year, she is a leading voice calling for better funding from developed nations and the fossil fuel industry to help vulnerable countries with the losses they suffer due to the effects of the climate crisis.

Click here for the full story.

Protests as Finance Day gets underway

10:07 , Harry Cockburn

On Finance Day at Cop27, protests this morning include representatives from The Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development.

They are calling for divestment from fossil fuels, and are carrying placards saying carbon capture technology is an "excuse" to keep extracting climate-altering fossil fuels.

Meanwhile other protest groups gathered to amplify calls for so-called “climate reparations”.

“You must pay compensation for this damage”, one sign reads.

‘We’re not in a climate crisis’, says former Brexit minister David Frost

10:33 , Harry Cockburn

Former Brexit minister David Frost has joined a controversial thinktank that denies global heating is a problem, declaring: “We’re not in a climate emergency.”

The Global Warming Policy Foundation – founded by ex-Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson – has faced calls for it to be stripped of charitable status because of its policy stance.

But Lord Frost, a key figure on the Tory right, said the organisation provided an “objective view” of climate change, as he also suggested the drive for net zero is unachievable.

My colleague Rob Merrick has more.

UN ‘should set 2040 net zero plastic target'

10:54 , Harry Cockburn

A UK team of experts which advises the United Nations, G20 and World Bank has called for a zero target to be set for new plastic pollution by 2040.

Professor Steve Fletcher, director of the Global Plastics Policy Centre at the University of Portsmouth, has made the plea for the UN to make the “bold pledge” in its upcoming Global Treaty To End Plastic Pollution.

The call comes while leaders discuss plastic pollution and its role in climate change at the Cop27 summit in Egypt.

The team from the Hampshire university have advised the United Nations Environment Programme, G20 and the World Bank on plastic policy, including the possible structure and content of a global agreement to tackle plastic pollution.

Writing in the journal Nature Reviews Earth And Environment, Professor Fletcher said: “The treaty’s target must be ambitious and meaningful, we are calling for the UN to aim for a minimum goal of 0% new plastic pollution by 2040.

“To achieve this, policymakers, businesses, researchers and wider society must go beyond the existing best available technology and practice and be radical in their thinking to develop a coordinated global strategy to tackle plastic pollution.”

Sturgeon urged to reject Roseban oil field

11:23 , Harry Cockburn

Scotland’s First Minister has been accused of not answering a question from a climate activist on controversial proposals for a new oil field in the North Sea.

Nicola Sturgeon was approached by Wiktoria Jedroszkowiak - an activist with Fridays for Future Eastern Europe - on Tuesday, who asked about her stance on the Rosebank field.

Rosebank - proposed to the west of Shetland by the Norwegian state-controlled firm Equinor - could be as much as twice the size of the controversial Cambo development, which was paused following public outcry including from the First Minister.

The Scottish Government does not have the power to deny the necessary permissions for development of oil fields, but Ms Sturgeon has previously waded into debates around the issue, including coming out against Cambo last year.

Mr Sturgeon was approached by Ms Jedroszkowiak while at the Cop27 climate talks in Sharm El-Sheikh.

In a video of the interaction posted on social media, the activist said: “My friends from Scotland, they are very concerned about the Rosebank oil field and I want to ask if you have any opinion on that?”

Ms Sturgeon replied: “I need to go just now.”

Ms Jedroszkowiak pressed: “It was very important when you said no to Cambo last year.”

The First Minister said: “My opinion on this is really clear, we’ve got to move away from fossil fuels, we’ve got to do that in a just way.

Oil and gas emissions ‘up to three times higher than companies claim’

11:46 , Harry Cockburn

Global emissions of climate-altering greenhouse gases from oil and gas are up to three times higher than claimed by the companies producing them, according to detailed new research.

The work, released amid the UN’s Cop27 climate summit, is the most comprehensive and specific global inventory of greenhouse gas emissions to date, detailing the emissions data for 72,612 individual sources worldwide.

It reveals the enormous scale at which greenhouse gas emissions are increasing, and also the huge level of under-reporting by polluting industries, which are undermining efforts to combat the worsening climate crisis.

Read my full report here.

US climate envoy John Kerry announces new carbon market plans

11:56 , Harry Cockburn

US climate envoy John Kerry has announced plans for companies to buy carbon credits to help support countries moving away from coal power.

Speaking at the Cop27 summit, Mr Kerry said that companies including Microsoft and PepsiCo were involved in the plans, while countries and environmental groups were also supportive, according to a report by Reuters.

Fossil fuel companies were excluded, Mr Kerry added.

China 'willing to contribute to climate loss and damage compensation'

12:11 , Harry Cockburn

China would be willing to contribute to a mechanism for compensating poorer countries for losses and damage caused by climate change, its climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said on Wednesday at the Cop27 conference.

Mr Xie said China had no obligation to participate, but stressed his solidarity with those calling for more action from wealthy nations on the issue, and outlined the damage China had suffered from climate-linked weather extremes, Reuters reports.

China is designated by the World Trade Organization as a developing country, despite having the world’s second largest economy.

Last month, United States special envoy John Kerry told reporters China should contribute its own funds to loss and damage, “especially if they think they’re going to continue to go on to the next 30 years with increasing their emissions.”

UN climate chief urges renewables boom for ‘healthier, wealthier’ future

12:37 , Harry Cockburn

Both wealthy and poor countries can reap huge economic, social and environmental gains by rapidly rolling out more renewable energy and taking other climate action, the new UN climate chief said at the Cop27 summit on Wednesday.

“It’s good business for them to embrace the transition,” Simon Stiell said in an interview. “It’s a healthier, wealthier future.”

But he said moving away from the status quo was a major issue. “There’s so much vested interest in where we are,” he said. “That’s the challenge.”

‘Act of national self harm’ not to invest in renewable energy sources, says Starmer

13:01 , Harry Cockburn

It would be an ‘act of national self harm’ not to invest in renewable energy sources, Keir Starmer has told prime minister Rishi Sunak at PMQs in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Mr Starmer told the Commons: “Shell haven’t paid a penny in windfall tax. Why? Because for every pound they spend digging for fossil fuels, he hands them a 90p tax break and it’s costing the taxpayer billions. So will he find a backbone and end his absurd oil and gas giveaway?”

Mr Sunak replied: “What the party opposite will never understand is that it’s businesses investing that creates jobs in this country.”

Sir Keir countered: “There’s only one party that crashed the economy and they’re all sitting there.”

He added: “He spent weeks flirting with the climate change deniers in his party, then scuttled off to Cop27 at the last minute.”

He urged the prime minister to “find a backbone” and expand the windfall tax on fossil fuel giants.

Starmer accuses Sunak of ‘roadblock’ on climate, despite PM’s stance at Cop27

13:36 , Harry Cockburn

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attacked prime minister’s Rishi Sunak’s consistency on climate policies at PMQs on Wednesday, saying that while the Conservative leader had told Cop27 he recognised the need to act faster on renewables, he asked: “Why is he the roadblock at home?”

“As he was flying to Egypt, his minister was reaffirming the ban on onshore wind - the cheapest, cleanest form of power that we have.

“The Prime Minister also said at Cop27 that he realises the importance of ending our dependence on fossil fuels but he’s inserted a massive oil and gas giveaway when Labour forced him into a windfall tax.”

He said this was “taxpayers’ cash handed over for digging up fossil fuels”.

Case of jailed British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist ‘grows more urgent by the day’, warns Sunak

13:39 , Harry Cockburn

Rishi Sunak has told the House of Commons that the case of jailed British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah “grows more urgent by the day” due to his hunger strike.

The Prime Minister was updating MPs on his visit to the Cop27 summit.

Mr Sunak said: “With the Egyptian President, I raised the case of the British-Egyptian citizen Alaa Abd El-Fattah and I know the whole House will share my deep concern about his case, which grows more urgent by the day.

“We will continue to press the Egyptian government to resolve the situation. We want to see Alaa freed and reunited with his family as soon as possible.”

Global temperature rise can still be capped at 1.5 degrees Celsius

14:00 , Mustafa Qadri

Preventing global temperature from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible but will require private sector funding, top climate diplomat for the US John Kerry said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a Bloomberg Green event on the sidelines at Cop27, Kerry said that meeting the goal would require a global effort and that this, along with reducing methane emissions were key areas of cooperation with China.

China willing to provide funds for losses and damages caused by climate crisis

14:36 , Harry Cockburn

China would be willing to contribute to compensation for poorer countries for losses and damage caused by climate change, its climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said on Wednesday at the Cop27 conference.

Mr Xie said China had no obligation to participate, but stressed his solidarity with those calling for more action from wealthy nations on the issue, and outlined the damage China had suffered from climate-linked weather extremes, Reuters reports.

The move, on the summit’s Finance Day, on Wednesday, comes amid international scrutiny of the process, also known as climate reparations.

Read the full piece here

16:41 , Sam Rkaina

We’ve now finished our live coverage of the Cop27 summit for the day, but keep checking independent.co.uk for all the latest updates.