Chris Bowen on Cop27’s urgent fight: ‘If we’re not trying to keep to 1.5C then what are

As the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt extends into overtime, Chris Bowen has called for the “strongest possible action” to limit global heating to 1.5C and backed the establishment of a fund to help the poor deal with unavoidable damage from worsening extreme weather.

In an interview with the Guardian, the Australian climate change minister said the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh had faced a push from some countries to water down the Glasgow pact last year and that he had fought alongside others to ensure that deal was “reaffirmed and built on”, not undone.

It was unclear whether that would be agreed as the talks headed into the early hours of Saturday, though much of the Glasgow agreement appeared to have been salvaged. The key point of contention was the issue known as loss and damage – how to finance rescue and reconstruction costs after catastrophic extreme weather events devastate people and infrastructure in vulnerable countries.

Long pushed for by developing countries, it is on the agenda for the first time in Egypt. Despite suggestions Australia was outright opposed,…