Editorial by Laurie Casey

Representatives from nearly 200 countries will attend the “Conference of the Parties,” or COP27, November 6-18, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. This is the 27th time since 1992 that world nations have gathered to collaborate on global action to fight climate change. Our window for action is shrinking. We really need everyone–elected leaders, corporations, community organizations and individuals—to commit to doing the most we can, as quickly as we can. COP27 is an important symbol of that collaboration.

Sharm El-Sheikh is a beautiful resort town in a country with a dubious grasp on human rights, a fitting mix of hope and despair. Can something productive come out of this conference?

In the sandbox of global climate politics, who gets to use the shovels and who gets buried? Who will play nicely? Will the world’s poor walk away with sand in their eyes? Who will get a shot at a liveable planet?

Needless to say, there’s a lot of disappointment about the lack of progress at past COP meetings. Activist Greta Thurnberg is skipping COP27, calling it “greenwashing.” Others are resorting to trying to pull our attention to climate change by throwing lunch on famous artworks.

World leaders have failed us so badly that the latest United Nations emissions report says “there is no credible opportunity” to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees by 2100, which is widely considered a tolerable amount of heating.

We ain’t seen nothing yet

We have missed the chance to protect ourselves and all other living creations from climate change. It’s devastating. Our planet is now subject to annual “100-year-event” level wildfires, scorching droughts, killer heatwaves and floods like the one that submerged a third of the total land area of Pakistan, killing 1,000 people and destroying one million homes.

That is what 1.2 degrees of heating looks like.

The earth is actually on track for 2.1-2.9 degrees of warming by 2100, depending on which scientific report you are reading. The New York Times tries to spin that range as “less apocalyptic” – I’m not even sure what that means.

We can afford to dither no longer. And we also can’t give up on the COP process. It’s our best opportunity to come together to protect our shared home. So what can the COP27 delegates achieve at this meeting?

Send a smile and show you care

Countries can make new, meaningful emissions reduction commitments, including phasing out coal production and reducing fossil fuel subsidies. We don’t know what those pledges will look like, yet.

Aside from India and Australia, most countries that have submitted previews of their commitments produce tiny greenhouse gas emissions. We’ll need to hear from the big guns.

There’s some hope. Since the last COP, the U.S. has passed the most sweeping climate change bills on the planet: The Inflation Reduction Act to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 percent by 2030. The US has also committed to manufacturing zero-carbon technology and directed billions of dollars toward disaster-resilience research.

Brazil, thankfully, just elected a new leader who has pledged to protect the Amazon Rainforest after four years of aggressive destruction by his right wing predecessor.

But the Ukraine/Russia war has threatened Europe’s winter heating energy supply, which is causing both faster adoption of green energy and a regression to dirty energy sources to keep people from freezing.

China, the biggest greenhouse gas emitter, said at last year’s COP that its emissions would continue to rise until 2030. Will it be a different story this year?

I’m alright, Jack, keep your hands off my stack

Climate finance—funds that can support mitigation and adaptation—will also be a big topic of discussion in Egypt.

Rich countries promised in 2009 to pay $100 billion per year to developing countries to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate temperature rise. Spoiler alert: it never happened.

Will COP27 be the year we recommit to our less fortunate neighbors who are bearing the brunt of climate change, which we wealthy nations disproportionately cause?

It will be a fascinating 14 days in the sandbox. . . please tune into coverage from our friends at It’s Our Future and Seven Generations Ahead, who are attending COP27. They will host a special online event live from Sharm El-Sheikh called From the Mideast to the Midwest on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 12 p.m. CST. Register here.

And remember, individually, we are small, but when we work together, we can achieve a lot. Much climate action is happening on the local level. Get involved in decarbonization efforts in your own community. Make some noise at your federal and state elected officials. Here in Illinois, amazing activists lobbied for and won the passing of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, funneling resources to job creation in the green energy sector. If you have the means, you can transform your own home, as Derek and Aya are doing. There is much work to be done, and we can each play a part in the movement toward a livable climate.

Lisa Files