Energy colonialism, climate reparations: COP27 and key concepts to know

As countries come together at COP27 to take actions on the collective goals under the Paris Agreement and Convention in Egypt, here are the key concepts you must know about

As countries from across the globe come together at COP27 to take action on the collective goals under the Paris Agreement and Convention from 6-8 November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, here are the key concepts you must know about:

Energy colonialism

The concept of Energy colonialism became a highlight at COP27 when think tank Power Shift Africa's director and famous activist, Mohamed Adow accused European nations, especially Germany of practicing Energy Colonialism.

Energy colonialism can be defined as a situation where foreign countries or companies use land and resources belonging to another country to generate energy for their own use.

"Europe’s dash for gas was threatening to lock Africa into polluting fossil fuels, rather than pursuing greener alternatives such as renewables," Adow said while criticizing Europe's move toward Africa to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels for energy supply.

Carbon neutrality

When there is a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks, a country is said to be 'carbon-neutral'.

Climate colonialism

The concept of climate colonialism is often defined as the exploitation of resources in the Global South by Global North nations to achieve their own green agendas. Global North is often seen as the developed and rich countries including Europe and US. And 'Global South' includes the developing or the under-developed nations.

In 2021, the European Green Deal was criticised and accused of being blind to the damages that Europe has caused historically to other countries, especially the Global South.

For example, a push for greener sources of energy, particularly in the Global North, has increased the demand for metals like nickel and cobalt. But, the exploitative mining conditions and displacement of an indigenous community in achieving these green targets is not much discussed.

Carbon offsetting

Carbon offsetting is a practice by which rich and developed countries purchase the right to release more greenhouse gases (GHG) than they have committed to. And in return, they invest in carbon sequestration facilities in developing countries as compensation for missing their targets.

Climate crisis

The United Nations started describing the phenomenon of climate change as a climate crisis in the past few years. The United Nations report says that climate change is a major threat to international peace and security.

"The effects of climate change heighten competition for resources such as land, food, and water, fueling socioeconomic tensions and, increasingly often, leading to mass displacement."

Calling 'climate' a risk multiplier, the UN says that it aggravates the challenges the world faces today.

"Droughts in Africa and Latin America directly feed into political unrest and violence. The World Bank estimates that, in the absence of action, more than 140 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia will be forced to migrate within their regions by 2050." says the UN report on Climate Crisis.

Climate Reparations

Historically, developing nations have blamed the developed world for the rising climate change and have asked that they pay for losses incurred by poor or vulnerable nations by the impact of Climate change.

The most recent example is Pakistan. The country faced catastrophic floods and heatwaves in the past year, which has been attributed to the impact of the Climate crisis. Small island nations like Tuvalu, Antigua and Barbuda, which are vulnerable to hurricanes and ongoing sea-level are also among the countries that are demanding reparations from the developed world.

In 2021, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro asked for payments from the world to preserve the Amazon rain forests also known as the "Lungs of the World".

Loss and damage

It is the measure of harm and destruction that occurs when people and places are not fully prepared for climate-driven disasters.

The UN in 2013 agreed to set up a formal financial mechanism to tackle 'loss and damage'. But, at present, it is mostly donations based and not much progress has been made to formalise the mechanism as an insurance method against climate impact.

The UN secretary general Antonio Guterres calling for aid to flood-hit Pakistan, in a joint statement with Pakistan president Shehbaz Sharif, said “If there is any doubt about loss and damage, go to Pakistan, the loss is there."

Guterres then called for "a clear roadmap, including the creation of an institutional framework and financing to compensate the country"

Climate Finance

UNEP describes climate finance as local, national, or transnational financing, which may be drawn from public, private, and alternative sources that seek to support mitigation and adaptation to climate change with a focus on supporting developing countries to access climate finance. India’s environment minister Bhupender Yadav at the COP27 said, "Climate finance for developing nations is a mirage and adopting measures such as early warning about extreme weather events will save lives".