The twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) has begun in Egypt. From today until November 18, heads of state, ministries and negotiators, along with climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives and executive management, will meet in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh for the most important annual meeting on climate action. The so-called Climate Summit will build on the outcomes of COP26 with the aim of taking action on issues that are essential to tackling the climate emergency. The urgent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the strengthening of resilience and adaptation to the consequences derived from the effects of climate change and the fulfilment of commitments to finance climate action in developing countries will be some of the challenges to be addressed. According to the United Nations, in the face of the growing energy crisis, record concentrations of greenhouse gases and the increase in extreme weather events, COP27 seeks to renew solidarity between countries to comply with the Paris Agreement, which was adopted for the benefit of people and the planet. The Government of Spain has a pavilion in the blue zone of the Climate Summit in which nearly 50 events will take place organized by the different entities, companies and Administrations present at the COP. The official programme is available on the MITECO website and can be consulted at this link. In the Spanish pavilion, the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge is organising three events focused on topics such as governance and citizenship; climate-neutral cities, and biodiversity and climate change on the financial agenda. Two side events are scheduled for next Thursday, November 17. The first will take place from 12:00 to 13:00 and will address the roadmap towards climate-neutral cities in 2030.

The second event will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and will address the fundamental role of citizens’ assemblies as governance mechanisms that reinforce existing participation tools and offer citizens the opportunity to take part in an innovative way in the debate on how to face climate change. On Friday, November 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a side event will be held with the aim of updating the current state of knowledge in the regulatory financial field and raising awareness of how this sector can contribute to achieving climate neutrality, promoting business models based on regeneration, resilience and the circular economy. from a “nature-positive” approach, which pursues the resilience of our planet and societies to halt and reverse nature loss.