Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading

COP27 negotiators face long and difficult journey - EU's Timmermans

European Commission executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans speaks during an interview with Reuters at the COP27 climate summit in Red Sea resort at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 17, 2022. REUTERS/Emilie Madi

Negotiators at the COP27 summit in Egypt face a difficult task over the coming days, European Union climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said on Thursday.

"It's going to be quite a long and difficult journey to the end of this process," Timmermans told a news conference. "Today, I'm afraid I'm not sure yet where these talks will land."

"If this COP fails, we all lose."

The first draft of a deal being hashed out at the COP27 climate summit would keep a target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, but leaves many of the most contentious issues in the talks unresolved ahead of a Friday deadline.

"The presidency have reassured me that this text is a compilation of submissions they received and not a proposed presidency landing zone. That's good news," Timmermans said.

"I hope the presidency will present us soon with a text that we can take as a basis for negotiations."

(Reporting by William James; Editing by Dominic Evans)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.