The energy and food crises fuelled by the war in Ukraine are an unacceptable “pretext for backsliding” at the United Nations COP27 climate talks, host nation Egypt has warned.
With just over a month until the next yearly summit, ambassador Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt’s COP27 special representative, acknowledged the “complicating factors” that could hinder this year’s talks.
In a thinly veiled message to those involved in the war, Mr Aboulmagd urged countries to “put political differences aside” at the talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, and “expedite” rather than slow down the transition to green power.
The geopolitical context has changed radically since last year’s COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, with the war in Ukraine often knocking climate change down the agenda.
Energy prices have soared as Russia cut supplies to Europe in retaliation to Western sanctions over its invasion.
Meanwhile scores of countries have been pummelled by devastating floods, wildfires and droughts, super-charged by climate change.
While the gas squeeze has accelerated plans to shift to clean power in the European Union and beyond, some countries are also expanding fossil fuel production or firing up old coal plants.
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But it is “high time” to implement the Paris Agreement, struck in 2015 at COP21, “in its totality”, Mr Aboulmagd said in a briefing.
“We can see that the [climate] devastation is enormous and that we have huge gaps when it comes to emissions reduction… adapting to climate change and of course, the finance gap which everyone is aware of,” he told reporters.
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Developing nations hope that lower-middle income Egypt’s turn to host the yearly talks will put pressure on rich, polluting countries to stump up promised, long overdue cash to help them cope with the fallout from climate breakdown.
Rich countries, responsible for a disproportionate amount of climate-heating emissions, are falling around $16bn short of their target to channel $100bn a year by 2020 to their poorer counterparts to help them cope with climate change .
Egypt has promised to make it a key objectives to make progress the contentious debate around climate reparations, with poor countries asking rich countries to pay for the losses and damages they are suffering that are beyond the realms of adaptation.
That debate was crystallised by this summer’s violent and deadly flooding in Pakistan, which inflicted an estimated $10 billion of damage, displaced 33 million people and killed at least 1,300 in a country that has contributed very little to global heating.
The ambassador said the hardest hit by climate change are “the most vulnerable and the least developed economically countries on their GDP”.
“Pakistan, of course, is a very sad testament to all of this… We, as an incoming presidency, understand this problem and we see what needs to be done, and that is to implement,” he added.
Last year’s COP26 climate talks in Glasgow launched a “dialogue” on loss and damage, but funding is still almost nowhere to be seen.
Tasneem Essop, executive director of Climate Action Network, said “all eyes are on the Egyptian presidency” to put the needs of people “on the frontlines of the climate crisis are front and centre on the COP agenda”.
That means delivering on climate finance, in particular for adaptation and losses and damages, and progress on phasing out of all fossil fuels, said the leader of CAN, which represents 1,800 global climate groups and participates in United Nations talks.
The Egyptian presidency must ensure “an inclusive and transparent COP- starting with access to affordable accommodation, smooth visa processes and the full and active participation of civil society,” she said, alluding to concerns about restrictions on protests and sky-high hotel prices.
Mr Aboulmagd said Egypt is ensuring cheap youth hostel accommodation was available and accelerating the accreditation process.
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Hamas says it has accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar – as Israel suggests it will not accept the proposal in its current form.
The Palestinian militant group has issued a statement saying its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had expressed his agreement in a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence minister.
A Hamas official has said the group will send a delegation to visit the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss the ceasefire proposal and the next steps.
An Israeli official has said Hamas has agreed to a “softened” proposal which is “not acceptable to Israel”.
The official added that Hamas’ announcement “appears to be a ruse to cast Israel as the side refusing a deal”.
Egypt and Qatar have been mediating months of talks between Hamas and Israel.
Hamas has agreed to the proposed ceasefire hours after Israel ordered Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah ahead of an Israeli military operation.
Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last stronghold.
News of the Hamas announcement sent people in Rafah cheering in the streets.
Details of the proposal were not immediately released, but in recent days, Egyptian and Hamas officials have said the ceasefire would take place in stages in which Hamas would release hostages it is holding in exchange for Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza.
It is not clear whether the deal will meet Hamas’ key demand of bringing about an end to the war and complete Israeli withdrawal.
The ceasefire would mark the first pause in fighting since a temporary truce ended in late November.
That week-long pause saw about 105 Hamas-held hostages released from Gaza and 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails set free.
Hamas said it was going into negotiations in Cairo with a “positive spirit” in a statement on Friday, adding it was “determined to secure an agreement in a way that fulfils Palestinians’ demands”.
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Russia has warned that Ukrainian strikes on its territory with UK-supplied weapons could bring retaliatory attacks against British military facilities and equipment on Ukrainian soil or elsewhere.
During a trip to Kyiv last week, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said Ukraine “absolutely has the right” to strike back at targets inside Russia using British-supplied weapons.
Russia’s foreign ministry said the UK’s ambassador to Moscow had been “summoned” to make him “reflect on the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile steps by London”.
The UK’s Foreign Office, however, contested the claim saying the ambassador had not been “summoned” but he had just taken part in a diplomatic meeting with ministry officials.
British ambassador Nigel Casey was called in for a formal protest, the Russian foreign ministry claimed, as it said Lord Cameron’s remarks recognised that Britain – which has given Ukraine billions of pounds worth of weapons to defend itself in the war against Russia – was now de-facto a part of the conflict.
“Casey was warned that in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with British weapons, any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and abroad could be targeted,” the foreign ministry said.
“The ambassador was called upon to reflect on the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile steps by London and immediately refute the belligerent provocative statements of the head of the Foreign Office in the most decisive and unambiguous way.”
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement: “The British Ambassador was not summoned. He met Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials for a diplomatic meeting.
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“The Ambassador reiterated the UK’s support for Ukraine in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression, and restated the UK’s position on providing support to Ukraine.”
During Lord Cameron’s visit to Ukraine last week, the foreign secretary reiterated Britain’s unwavering support for Ukraine, whose troops have been fighting Russia’s invasion since the Kremlin launched its “special military operation” in February 2022.
“Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it’s defending itself,” Lord Cameron said.
On Monday morning, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) released a statement instructing people in southeastern Gaza to advance towards an “expanded humanitarian area” to the north, centred around the city of Khan Younis, and a coastal community called Al-Mawasi.
The IDF said it “includes field hospitals, tents and increased amounts of food, water, medication and additional supplies”.
The claim will be greeted with scepticism by international aid agencies that have argued the Israelis have failed to do enough to facilitate such aid.
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The UN’s refugee agency in Gaza, UNRWA, immediately questioned the operation on X.
UNRWA said an offensive “would mean more civilian suffering and deaths” and that “the consequences would be devastating for 1.4 million people”.
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The vast majority of people living in southern Gaza have already been displaced by the fighting further north.
And in what represents a significant juncture, the Israelis are instructing them to return to areas that have already badly damaged in this conflict.
Khan Younis was placed under siege by the IDF in January and many neighbourhoods have been partially – or completely – destroyed.
However, there are no doubts about the Israelis’ intent.
Leaflets are now being dropped in southeastern Gaza, stating: “Anyone in the area puts themselves and their family members in danger. For your safety, evacuate immediately….”
With this operation, Israel would test the very limits of support that it receives from Western countries like the US, the UK and members of the European Union.
Last week, US secretary of state Antony Blinken suggested an incursion into Rafah was a step too far, warning the Israelis had yet to produce “a clear, credible plan to protect civilians”.
Until it does, Mr Blinken said Washington “cannot and will not support a major military operation” in the area.
Now, Israel’s chief ally and military backer will have to formulate a response, one which requires them to evaluate the nature and extent of this complicated relationship.