COP27 is called the UN meeting which started on Sunday in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

More than 120 heads of state and government are expected to participate, according to the AP news agency. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) is one of those to attend the opening phase on Monday and Tuesday.

– Climate change doesn’t stop. We’ve been reminded of that in recent months, he said as the government recently tightened Norway’s official climate targets.

Pakistan is flooded

Extreme weather in a number of places in the world in the last six months has again shown the consequences of climate change.

Historic monsoon rains flooded large parts of Pakistan, which are now at the forefront as poor countries demand more aid to cope with worsening natural disasters.

They are demanding a new scheme for compensation for the destruction they are not to blame. The requirement is aimed at rich countries that have been spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere for more than a hundred years.

But many of these “worst emissions” are currently facing a costly energy crunch following Russia’s war against Ukraine. This makes it difficult to find money to help developing countries cope with natural disasters.

And in Europe, the energy crisis has fueled an urgent need for new suppliers of fossil energy.

Bigger defense budget

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Saturday he was unsure how much progress was likely to be made in Sharm el-Sheikh.

He cautioned that Germany is now spending lavishly to maintain stability in Europe, supporting Ukraine with arms and increasing its own defense budget, according to the DPA news agency.

– This is the same money that we need to fight climate change, he said during a visit to South Korea.

Norway’s climate and environment minister Espen Barth Eide discussed the same topic in a recent interview with NTB.

– Aid money from Western countries is increasingly going to Ukraine, which is true, he emphasized.

At the same time, he pointed out that there are other people who are now receiving less money from the affluent parts of the world. He pointed to Somalia, which is suffering from famine after several years of drought.

Loss and damage

While most heads of state will be in Sharm el-Sheikh for a few days, the conference spans two weeks.

Retailers from almost every country in the world will try to get ahead in the tug-of-war over how to deal with global warming. Two of the most important topics expected are financial support for emission cuts and climate adaptation in poor countries, and the demand for a new, separate compensation scheme.

The topic is often referred to as “finance” and “loss and damage” in the technical parlance of negotiation.

In addition, talks are continuing with regard to different types of actions and strategies to reduce emissions.

Brazil’s bright spot

Along with the energy crisis and high inflation after the Ukraine war, the relationship between China and the US became very bad.

This is a challenge in the climate negotiations, because these two countries contribute a large part of the world’s climate emissions. Therefore, what China and the US choose is decisive for the fight against climate change.

Apart from the head of state, Brazil’s election winner Lula da Silva is also expected to attend Sharm el-Sheikh. He has vowed to stop deforestation in the Amazon and could help lift the ice at climate conferences.

That it was being held in Egypt has been criticized by human rights activists. According to Amnesty International, there are a large number of political prisoners in Egypt, and demonstrations are basically prohibited.