The 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, or COP27, took place earlier this month from November 6th until November 18th in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

From 6 to November 20th, COP27 held high-level and side events, critical negotiations, and press conferences, hosting more than 100 Heads of State and Governments, over 35,000 participants, and numerous pavilions showcasing climate action around the world and across different sectors.

What is COP??? Learn more 

Climate and biodiversity crises have been treated as separate issues for many years. However, this year's COP has highlighted an alarming reality. There is no viable solution to limiting global warming to 1.5°C without urgently protecting and restoring nature. Therefore, the main goal now is to collectively drive action across climate, biodiversity, and desertification to help close the finance gap for nature-based solutions.

With this goal in mind, on November 20th, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP27, decided to establish and operationalize a loss and damage fund.

Welcoming the decision and calling the fund essential, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that more must be done to reduce emissions now. He stressed that we, as humanity, must take action and fight for climate justice. 

"The world still needs a giant leap on climate ambition." - UN Secretary-General António Guterres. 

"We can and must win this battle for our lives," he concluded.

COP 27 Thematic Days

The conference had various discussions covering different topics, from gender to biodiversity and decarbonization, finalizing in a day dedicated to solutions. 

November 9th - Finance Day 

Finance day addressed several aspects of the climate finance ecosystem. Including financial tools and policies that have the potential to enhance access, scale up finance and contribute to the transition to more sustainable living practices and economies. 

November 10th - Science Day

Science day held different panel discussions and events to bring forward the outcomes of scientific reports and their recommendations. It also looked into engaging with the scientific community, practitioners, and stakeholders. 

November 10th - Youth & Future Generations Day

Ensuring that the voice of Youth and Future Generations is heard loud and clear is one of the objectives of the CoP27 Presidency.

November 11th - Decarbonization Day

Since adopting the Paris Agreement and going to Glasgow in 2021, several energy-intensive sectors and companies have come forward with plans, policies, and actions to reduce their carbon footprints and gradually move towards decarbonization. The decarbonization day provided an opportunity to discuss such approaches and procedures and showcase technologies to encourage and facilitate the much-needed transition towards a low-carbon economy.

November 12th - Adaptation & Agriculture Day

This day focused on the current climate impacts on agriculture and how to prepare for the future. 

November 14th - Gender Day 

Gender Day aimed to highlight the role of women in dealing with all aspects of climate change and discuss the challenges women still face to be heard. In addition, the day will shed light on the woman's role in adapting to climate change.

November 14th - Water Day

Water day focused on discussing water scarcity, drought, cross-boundary cooperation, and improvement of early warning systems.

November 15th - Ace & Civil Society Day

Power to the people. Climate action requires engagement with Civil Society. That is you, us, the people. With this in mind, CoP27 offered a platform to share best practices and identify challenges and networking opportunities. 

November 15th - Energy Day

Energy day looked at all things related to energy and climate change, including renewable energy and energy transformation. It also looked at renewable energy, smart grids, energy efficiency, and energy storage for the future. 

November 16th - Biodiversity Day

One of the most crucial aspects of discussion during COP27. Biodiversity day looked at all things related to nature and ecosystem-based solutions. It also touched upon the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and the actions needed to prevent further biodiversity loss and to reduce the effects of climate change and pollution. Climate change on oceans, endangered species, coral reefs, sustainability of protected areas, and the impacts of plastic waste on ecosystems and species were discussed during biodiversity day. 

November 17th - Solutions Day

The most critical day, solutions day, focused on proposing real actionable solutions to all the issues discussed. 

Such as greening national budgets, creating sustainable cities, sustainable transport, sectoral solutions like waste management, and alternatives to plastic and green building. 

Solutions day also offered companies an opportunity to bring their creativity, funding, and innovation into the effort toward combating climate change. 

Learn more about the thematic days and access videos and actions by visiting here

Actions Speak Louder than Words: The COP 27's Climate Action Hub

The Climate Action Hub showcases the beautiful work being done around the world by local governments, the private sector, and civil society. The Climate Action Hub was launched at COP24 in Katowice in 2018. The main difference between the Action Hub and COP is that while COP is dominated by Party negotiations among the governments, the Action Hub is a place for everyone else to showcase their efforts in tackling the climate crisis. It's a space to share, network, engage and learn: a transparent, participatory space that is always one of the highlights of the COP. 

Everyone from billionaire investors to polar explorers to athletes, musicians, actors, entrepreneurs, scientists, and activists all highlight their own climate actions.