Cop27: What events are taking place during the two-week climate summit?

World leaders to descend on Sharm El-Sheikh for latest round of crucial environmental talks

Cop27, the latest instalment of the United Nations’ annual climate change conference, will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6-18 November.

Led by the country’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, with environment minister Yasmine Fouad serving as the event’s ministerial coordinator and envoy, the summit follows last year’s gathering in Glasgow and will see representatives from countries around the world thrash out the big questions about safeguarding the future of our planet.

Cop27 is open to all parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the landmark treaty signed between nations at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That aimed to rein in “dangerous human interference with the climate system” and later led to the emissions-cutting deals of the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement.

US president Joe Biden will be at this year’s conference but Vladimir Putin and King Charles III will all be absent. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is said to be reviewing his decision not to attend, while the attendance of other important figures, notably Chinese premier Xi Jinping, has yet to be confirmed.

Here is what we know so far courtesy of the event’s official schedule, which is subject to change as we get closer to the opening date.

Sunday 6 November

Cop27 opens with a meeting of all delegates to welcome them to North Africa.

Monday 7 November

The second day of the conference sees talks begin in earnest with a Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit, hosted by Egypt in its role as Cop president, as well as a number of events and workshops getting underway.

These include the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform’s (LCIPP) Annual Gathering of Knowledge Holders, a UN initiative intended to ensure local knowledge is represented and plays a central part in any resolutions reached towards tackling climate issues.

Tuesday 8 November

The aforementioned Implementation Summit will continue on the morning of day three.

Events also being held include the LCIPP’s Annual Youth Roundtable, an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) discussion of adaptation needs and Global Climate Action’s (GCA) opening session.

Wednesday 9 November

Day four is designated “Finance Day” by the organisers and is dominated by Global Stocktake (GST) Technical Dialogue events discussing progress with the implementation of Paris Agreement climate goals.

There will also be another LCIPP event discussing the importance of bringing indigenous women around the world into the climate discussion and ensuring their voices are heard.

Thursday 10 November

Day five is designated both “Science Day” and “Youth and Future Generation Day”.

The morning sees the opening of the Youth Led Climate Forum, which will be followed by two related discussions in the early afternoon.

Further GST roundtables will take place on mitigating and adapting to the impacts of the climate crisis and on enhancing international cooperation as well as briefings on advances in climate reporting technology and a further LCIPP Gathering of Knowledge Holders.

Friday 11 November

“Decarbonisation Day” takes place on day six.

The last GTS session will be held, as will the second instalment of LCIPP’s youth roundtable.

Saturday 12 November

Week one draws to a close with “Adaptation and Agriculture Day”, examining the consequences of adverse, unchecked environmental change on rural communities and their industries.

Monday 14 November

After a well-earned rest on Sunday, week two begins with both “Gender Day” and “Water Day”.

There will be a high-level ministerial talks on delegates’ ambitions for global climate measures in the run-up to 2030 and a discussion of climate finance and world governments’ economic commitments to the fightback against global heating.

Tuesday 15 November

This is “ACE and Civil Society Day” (that first part standing for Action for Climate Empowerment) as well as “Energy Day”, putting social responsibility and power generation at the forefront of the discussion.

Wednesday 16 November

As talks begin to wind down, “Biodiversity Day” is celebrated to concentrate attention on the health of natural ecosystems across the world.

Thursday 17 November

Little is scheduled for the penultimate day of the summit, known as “Solutions Day”, in order to allow national delegates time to hold sideline talks of their own in the hope of forging bold new agreements.

Friday 18 November

The curtain falls on Cop27 as the final closing sessions are held.