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

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.

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 president will present us soon with a text that we can take as a basis for negotiations."