Pity the planet

Looks like we've pretty much just given up.

Many nations arrived at the [COP27 climate] talks with the hope of keeping "1.5 degrees alive." The world is on a path to hit almost double that level of warming by the end of the century. Beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.8 degrees Fahrenheit), storms, heat waves and other climate impacts become much more destructive.

[...]

The negotiations went nearly two days past their scheduled deadline – into "hostage phase," as one South African delegate put it. Countries struggled to compromise on a plan that would reduce global dependence on fossil fuels, while helping vulnerable countries pay for the damage caused by worsening sea level rise, storms, droughts, heat waves and other climate-driven disasters.

The final deal, announced Sunday morning in Egypt, reiterates the goal set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement to keep overall global warming from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (about 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial era of the 1800s.

Despite a last minute push, the Egyptian delegation, which brokered the final deal as hosts of the conference, did not put phasing down fossil fuels in the final text. Instead, the final agreement encourages "efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies."

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Developing countries arrived with a key demand at these talks: wealthier countries must compensate them for the rising costs of floods, storms and other climate impacts. Now, they've agreed to start setting up a fund to do just that for the most vulnerable countries.

  NPR

That sounds good. However...

The U.S. is the largest historical contributor to climate change by a large margin. Today, China is the largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. But Chinese representatives at COP27 said, while the country is open to voluntarily contributing to loss and damage, it should only be an obligation for historically wealthier countries like the U.S. and European Union.

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The U.S. said little on the issue for most of the negotiations, a silence that was deafening for many developing countries. Before the talks, Biden Administration officials said they wanted to explore using existing networks for humanitarian aid, instead of creating a new dedicated fund.

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Tensions also rose over whether all developing countries should be eligible to receive funds.

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The final COP27 agreement sets up a timeline for countries to work out the details of a new fund over the next year. lt does not say which countries will be required to contribute to the fund, though it mentions "expanding" the sources of funding, a nod to Europe's demand that other countries contribute as well.

[...]

And the deal also does not set a firm timeline for when the money must arrive. Many wealthy countries, including the U.S., have failed to follow through on billions of dollars of previously promised climate funding.

So, essentially, nothing will be done.