In the run-up to and during the recently concluded COP27, the climate change summit at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, a number of reports had called out developed countries for failing the planet by not keeping their word on mitigation, which would allow the countries and communities most vulnerable to the disastrous effects of climate change to prepare for and prevent at least some of the damage, even though fighting nature’s fury is beyond human capacity. For well over a decade, such climate change meetings have been full of slogans surrounding the urgent need for the mitigation of climate change’s impacts, especially in poor and developing countries. Particularly threatened by climate change are the small island nations across the world, from the Caribbean islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and the numerous island states in the Pacific Ocean, which face submergence unless radical steps are taken immediately. The steps for the rich countries to take are rather simple and have been known for decades: They need to dramatically cut their carbon dioxide emissions. And not at the leisurely pace of achieving net zero that most of them have drawn up for themselves as part of their nationally determined commitments under the Paris Agreement. They must also help the developing nations achieve their own emissions cuts, taking due responsibility for their historical emissions, which account for about 79 percent of the total emissions released into the atmosphere since the era of industrialization began some 170 years ago. The rich countries also long ago committed to paying developing countries the money needed for their mitigation and adaptation efforts, besides making the technology for mitigation easily available. For well over a decade now, the developed nations have not only failed to meet their own targets for cutting emissions, but they have also failed on all other commitments — from financing mitigation and adaptation in developing countries to providing them with technology and assistance. This abject failure of the developed world was one of the hottest topics at the climate change meet in Egypt. A draft text that circulated at COP27 stated that the rich nations that have the financial and technological capabilities to lead in reducing their emissions continue to fall short in doing so. It said they are taking inadequate and unambitious goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, while they continue to emit and disproportionately consume the global carbon budget. It is no secret that the world has been racing to the edge of the cliff as far as climate change is concerned. It is also well known that the speed at which we are headed to catastrophe has been accelerating every single year that goes by. Yet, at COP after COP, the outcome has been a piece of paper, brandished as a revolutionary agreement and a game changer, which unfortunately is dumped in the waste bin by the rich nations even before they leave the conference venue. The steps for the rich countries to take are rather simple and have been known for decades: They need to dramatically cut their carbon dioxide emissions. Ranvir S. Nayar And the emissions continue to rise for the world as a whole. They are definitely not falling as per the commitments made, again mainly by the rich world, which continues to emit an entirely disproportionate amount of carbon dioxide. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the panel of scientists mandated by the UN to monitor climate change, the world can absorb less than another 500 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions, on top of the 2,500 gigatons already deposited in the atmosphere since the industrial era. This means there are less than 15 years of emissions left, at the current pace. The need is to lower emissions and for some countries to move into negative emissions, which means they remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they deposit. However, right now, the targets set by various countries, mainly the rich ones, mean that they will miss even the basic target of reducing their emissions by 2030, compared to 2010 levels. While the immediate burden of cutting emissions is on the rich world, developing countries will also have to start planning their long-term emissions to ensure they peak as soon as possible and start falling after a certain date. However, to cut emissions and also adapt to the dramatic changes being seen in the global climate, with repeated extreme-weather incidents, developing nations need access to climate finance, another issue on which the rich countries have been backing out of their commitments. The world needs at least $1 trillion to deal with this and the rich countries have long committed to paying for their “past sins.” However, so far, they have refused and at COP27 they even tried to reverse the position, asking the developing world to also pay for the damages that have been solely caused by the rich countries. In addition, they have also been talking much more about adaptation, using technology to lessen the impacts of climate change, rather than cutting emissions, which is the only logical way out, as various scientists have warned. Even with adaptation, billions of dollars are needed each year for the countries at risk. According to a UN report, the financing to turn these plans into action is not available. International adaptation finance flows to developing countries are five to 10 times below the estimated need and the gap is widening. Hence, at COP27, the rich world should have been putting serious money where its mouth is. Instead, it has been treating climate change as a joke, announcing with much pomp and ceremony contributions of a few million dollars. It would be better to end the ongoing sham of climate change conferences rather than continue with this endless talk about what needs to be done without following up on it with any degree of sincerity. Ranvir S. Nayar is managing editor of Media India Group. Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point of view