COP15 – hvad nåede de frem til?
22. december 2009
“Gik alle konger frem i rad, I deres magt og vælde, de mægted’ ej det mindste blad at sætte på en nælde.”
I København skulle de blot skrive under på en aftale, som kunne have kickstartet anvendelsen af vedvarende energikilder og udfasningen af de fossile brændstoffer. Indlysende, nødvendigt, betaleligt, økonomisk set hasard med fremtiden at lade være.
I en meddelelse via Reuters’ World Environment News giver Gerard Wynn i dag en opsummering af resultaterne af to ugers klimaforhandlinger i København. Resultatet af klimatopmødet er næsten for deprimerende at forholde sig til, så det forbliver uoversat. Punktum. Der bliver alvorligt brug for at skærpe forståelsen inden COP16 i Mexico.
Gerard Wynn: What Was Agreed And Left Unfinished In U.N. Climate Deal, Reuters 22.12.2009.
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What Was Agreed And Left Unfinished In U.N. Climate Deal
A conference of 193 countries agreed on Saturday to “take note” of a new Copenhagen Accord to fight global climate change, after two weeks of U.N. talks in the Danish capital.
The accord was not legally binding, and did not commit countries ever to agree a binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol, whose present round ends in 2012.
In addition, countries were invited to sign up to the accord, meaning it did not guarantee global participation.
Following is a summary of the decisions in the Copenhagen Accord, and other decisions adopted at the U.N. summit.
1. A NEW TREATY?
* No decision on whether to agree a legally binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
* No agreement on whether to sign one new treaty replacing Kyoto, or two treaties.
* Kyoto limits the emissions of nearly 40 richer countries from 2008-2012, but the United States never ratified the Protocol and it does not bind the emissions of developing nations.
* Rich nations prefer one new treaty including all countries; developing countries want to extend and sharpen rich nation commitments under Kyoto, and add a separate deal binding the United States and supporting action by poorer countries.
* No agreement on whether a new pact would run from 2013-2017 or 2013-2020, or any another time frame.
2. LONG-TERM GOAL TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
* Recognizes “the scientific view that the increase in global temperature should be below 2 degrees Celsius.”
* Agrees that “deep cuts in global emissions are required according to science.”
* Agrees to stop global and national greenhouse gas emissions from rising “as soon as possible.”
* No agreement on goals for global emissions cuts in the long-term, such as by 2050.
* Implementation of the accord would be reviewed in 2015 to ensure the world was avoiding dangerous climate change, to “include consideration of strengthening the long-term goal,” for example to limit temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.
3. 2020 EMISSIONS CUTS BY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
* Rich countries would “commit to economy-wide emissions targets for 2020” to be submitted by 31 January 2010.
* Rich nation parties to the Kyoto Protocol would strengthen their existing targets.
* No agreement on a base year for 2020 goals, for example compared with 1990 or 2005.
* Rich nations have so far offered 2020 targets of cuts about 14-18 percent below 1990 levels.
* Developing nations including China want collective rich nation cuts of at least 40 percent by 2020 versus 1990.
4. CLIMATE ACTION BY DEVELOPING NATIONS
* Developing nations would “implement mitigation actions” to slow growth in their carbon emissions, submitting these by January 31 2010.
* Developing countries would report those actions once every two years via the U.N. climate change secretariat.
* Actions which rich nations paid for would be recorded in a registry.
4. FINANCE
* Establishes a “Copenhagen Green Climate Fund.”
* Agrees a “goal” for the world to raise $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries cut carbon emissions and adapt to climate change.
* The funding would come from a “a wide variety of sources.”
* Developed countries would raise funds of $30 billion from 2010-2012 to help developing nations fight climate change.
* No agreement on how much individual countries would contribute to or benefit from any funds.
* “A significant portion” of the funds would flow through the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund, which would support projects to slow deforestation, help countries adapt to climate change and fund the development and sharing of clean technologies.
5. SAVING TROPICAL FORESTS
* Recognized the “crucial role” of reducing carbon emissions from destroying forests, and to raise funds to achieve that.
OTHER OUTCOMES, DECISIONS
1. EXCLUDED SECTORS, LOOPHOLES
* No agreement on whether to include emissions from aviation and shipping in climate targets, and make it mandatory to include farming and forestry.
* Kyoto excludes greenhouse gases from aviation and shipping, responsible for at least 5 percent of global emissions.
* Under Kyoto, rich countries do not have to include in their targets emissions from land use, including forests and farming.
* Combined, farms and deforestation account for a third of all global greenhouse gases.
2. ADOPTED DECISION ON CARBON MARKETS
* No agreement on how to scale up carbon finance under Kyoto’s existing $6.5-billion clean development mechanism (CDM).
* Under the CDM rich nations pay for emissions cuts in developing countries through trade in carbon offsets.
* The European Union wants the scheme to invest tens of billions of dollars annually in developing nations by 2020.
* Agreement to allow developers to appeal against U.N. panel rejections of CDM projects.
* No agreement on whether to include carbon capture storage in the CDM, a technology which cuts carbon emissions from coal plants.
* No agreement on including forest preservation in CDM.
3. ADOPTED DECISION ON CONSERVING TROPICAL FORESTS
* Agrees to ensure indigenous peoples are involved in measures to curb deforestation.
* Asks developing countries to identify drivers of deforestation and to start measuring emissions from destroying trees.
* No agreement on specific funds for forest preservation.
