Cop 27 has marked another close to the UNFCC climate change agenda which was held from November 7th-18th.
As an observer and a panelist on several fashion agendas at COP 27, I could not help but notice a few stark realities that contributed towards the challenges of global warming. But before I get ahead of myself, one needs to understand the context of COP and its uttermost relevance in this day and age.
COP, or Conference of the Parties, is the supreme body of the UNFCC. The COP is the most important annual global climate summit, which began in 1995 and, every year since, has been held in a different country. The COP is made up of 196 countries plus the European Union, called “the Parties.” The Conference of the Parties was born with the premise of strengthening public awareness on a global scale about the problems related to climate change. The COP was created to adopt the necessary decisions to achieve the objectives of the fight against climate change, such as the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, to prevent risks to the Earth’s climate system.
Environmental experts, ministers, heads of state, non-governmental organizations and, in some meetings, civil society and the private sector participate in the annual meetings. In recent years, emphasis has been placed on the participation of young people, creating a space and events for them.
But COP has never been without criticism. We are talking of over 20 years of plans, commitments, agendas, new laws being passed and rebuked, actions being planned on being taken and promises made. Since 1995 at its inception in Berlin, COP has created an indefinite catalog of commitments which allowed countries to choose the initiatives tailored to their needs. It has fostered intense negotiations as well as tailoring of documents that are instrumental towards the regulation of anthropogenic activities.
COP has been fraught with opposition from the world’s greatest polluters which started off with the US and China, and over time, has faced the backlash from developing countries who feel cornered and compelled to sign and ratify treaties which do not have their interests in order. COP has had a history of protests; NGO’s storming off the scenes and the civil society demanding to see changes and actions on commitments that were made.
This COP wasn’t any different. While public protests were curbed, it did not stop youth and civil society from asking and demanding that companies and governments deliver on promises taken at the previous COPs.
As an observer, I noticed several positive outcomes as well as discussions that were entrenched in the past. For one, fashion took a stand in the order of investments towards renewables, recycling and financing of projects that were catering towards net zero and carbon capture programs. Brands spoke of zero carbon emissions by 2050 and recycling of yarn which was the next big future of fashion. A plea towards public finance was made in various discussions.
Several players in fashion’s sphere showcased how garments from landfills could be repurposed, and how brands are adhering to social and environmental governance.
I noticed how brands were imbibing social impact in line with business. Alpine clothing in Egypt was upscaling their discarded sewn necklines and making panties with reusable sanitary napkins which addressed period poverty in Africa. The Egyptian clothing bank used clothes in various stages of its development, wherein old garments were broken down into scraps which were used as padding, slightly worn garments were either mended or upcycled into other pieces of clothing. And clothes that were perfect were resold as vintage pieces.
I had the opportunity to speak at the green zone amongst other COP 27 panelists on the future of fashion which was moderated by the Egyptian clothing bank. The audience was young and energetic, with a lot of insightful questions being asked. One question that stayed with me: do you think we are going back to the past, and is fashion becoming regressive?
It was a very relevant question and it had me thinking about the outcome of COP 27, were we fulfilling our promises or making vagrant claims that still needed heeding to.
Most of the brands on stage were from developed nations. Public finance was called for in the renewable energy sector of fashion and recycling, and philanthropic claims and investments were made towards carbon credits
What I failed to see was brands addressing environmental racism faced by communities who contributed towards their recycling programs, a take back provision for the amount of dead stock and used garments exported to developing countries, a consolidated program that could be replicated the world over, which adhered to fashion’s ESG.
So, it wasn’t uncommon to have doubts and questions, was COP becoming another marketing hub filled with green washers who were doing their best job to deflect from the truth?
All said and done, we might need to give COP a breather, after all, it is after 20-plus years that we have come this far, that we have managed to get countries to ratify and agree to their polluting standards.
Rome was not built in a day, and neither was the road paved for a smooth transition. So while we wait and gear up for COP 28, may be it is time to be regressive, introspect and backtrack on the decisions that have brought us to where we are now… today.
