[co-author: Kerry Mackenzie]

Talks during the fourth day of COP 27 focused on science and youth engagement. Here’s what business leaders need to know to keep up-to-date on event proceedings:

• Climate Action Tracker, a collaborative research project tracking emissions reduction progress, released a new edition of its report. The group predicts that fossil fuel projects initiated by countries this year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could emit 10 percent of the world’s remaining carbon budget.
  • Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics, one of the key partners in the Climate Action Tracker project said: “We’re witnessing a major push for expanded fossil gas LNG production and import capacity across the …which could cause global emissions to breach dangerous levels.”
• Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), said that he was hopeful regarding aligning the European Union’s (EU) environmental, social and governance (ESG) corporate disclosure standards with his board’s regulations. Faber emphasized that the EU needs to mandate Scope 3 emissions disclosures.
  • The ISSB announced earlier that it is partnering with 20 organizations on a framework to support investors and other stakeholders as they prepare to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
• The World Bank called for fresh funds from wealthy developed countries. Bank leader Axel van Trotsenburg emphasized that the organization is hoping to make a “decisive contribution” to climate finance for developing countries, especially Africa, but need support from countries like the United States, England and Germany to do so.
• The United Nations (UN) food agency announced that it will launch a plan within the year to make the global food system more sustainable. Officials hope that the plan will spur investment into sustainable companies, projects and technologies committed to meeting the plan’s goal.
  • Food and Agriculture Organization Deputy Director Zitouni Ould-Dada reflected: “There has never been this much attention to food and agriculture anytime before. This COP [27] is definitely the one.”
• Youth protestors and other civil society groups held rallies around the COP 27 venue demanding climate justice, with a focus on calling for funding for loss and damage projects in developing countries.
  • This comes as watchdog group Global Witness reported that over 600 fossil fuel lobbyists are set to attend COP 27 climate talks, a number which is up 25 percent from COP 7.

For previous editions of COP 27 coverage, please visit Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s climate blog, Speaking Sustainably.