Ahead of the gathering in Sharm-el-Sheikh, the United Nations said COP27 was designed to build on previous successes and pave the way for future ambitions to tackle the global challenge of climate change. Climate change experts from around the world said a real breakthrough was vital to keep the plan to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by 2030 on track.
So what was actually achieved? A long-promised loss and damage funding arrangement was announced – but with little detail. The 1.5 degree dream was all but ignored. And there was little to no real progress on finding a path to steer the world away from its reliance on fossil fuels.
So was it, as some have claimed "an historic moment" or, as its detractors claim, a missed opportunity which the planet simply can't afford?
That's the question we look to answer on this edition of The Agenda – as Juliet Mann speaks to Zitouni Ould-Dada – Deputy Director of the Climate and Environment Division at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, Dr Satyenda Prasad, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations, Nick Mabey, Founder & CO-CEO of climate change think tank E3G and Ma Jun, Director of the Institute of Public and Environmental affairs in Beijing.