COP27 could be called largely uninspiring; a plateau in progress marked by periodic bright points. It also represented an effective transition to a new dynamic as the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) moved beyond negotiations to a broader coalition of those willing to implement agreements from previous UN climate talks.
For local communities and forests in Southeast Asia, the mood may be more upbeat. From cases of leadership on Article 6 and ratcheted-up Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to continued attention on forests and the brokering of large-scale deals, some Southeast Asian and Pacific countries have been noteworthy actors on the stage of COP27.
