In an opening address, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary asked governments to focus on the transformational shift to implement the Paris Agreement and putting negotiations into concrete actions.

The Paris Agreement’s central goal is to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5oC by the end of the century, which the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said will require 45% of emissions to be cut by 2030, compared to 2010 levels.

Hydrogen has been highlighted as a key route to decarbonisation, with the Hydrogen Council in its Hydrogen for Net Zero report estimating that 660 million tonnes of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen will be needed by 2050 to achieve Net Zero, equivalent to 22% of global final energy demand.

“With the Paris Rulebook essentially concluded thanks to COP26 in Glasgow last year, the litmus test of this and every future COP is how far deliberations are accompanied by action. Everybody, every single day, everywhere in the world, needs to do everything they possibly can to avert the climate crisis,” said Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary.

“COP27 sets out a new direction for a new era of implementation: where outcomes from the formal and informal process truly begin to come together to drive greater climate progress — and accountability for that progress,” he added.

A recent report published UN Climate Change ahead of COP found that efforts remain insufficient to keep the 1.5oC target alive.

Read more: From Glasgow to Egypt: What happened between COP26 and COP27?

In addition to the Paris Agreement, the Executive Secretary called to cement progress on the work streams for mitigation, adaption, finance, and loss and damage, while stepping up finance to tackle the impacts of climate change.

Finally, Stiell hopes COP27 will see the enhancement of delivery the principles of transparency and accountability throughout the UN Climate Change process.