100 days left to hash out climate deal
Negotiators have until the United Nations Conference of Parties to the Climate Change Treaty, which begins Dec 7 in Copenhagen, to lay the groundwork for a new Climate Deal.
But, with only 15 scheduled negotiating days left and 170 pages of draft text still a long way from becoming a final proposal, momentum from outside the climate negotiations is going to be crucial.
“World leaders, many of whom will meet several times next month, need to take charge of the process on the basis that climate change is an economic, development and security issue as much as an environmental one,” said Kim Carstensen, Leader of the WWF Global Climate Initiative.
“Time is very short and the commodity most missing from the negotiations is leadership on the key issues. Leaders must insist on effective emissions reductions by the rich countries, financing for climate action in developing nations and helping the poor and vulnerable who have contributed very little to climate change but will suffer most from its impacts.”
Decisive moments during the first month of the last 100 days:
· Major Economies Forum, MEF, in Washington, 17-18 Sept. – First MEF meeting since the Summit in Italy in July, where Heads of State agreed to acknowledge a limit to global warming of 2 degrees Celsius. Ministers must now come up with clear ideas on how they will achieve this.
· UN Climate Summit in New York, 22 Sept., following a global action day on 21 Sept. – More than 100 Heads of State will attend and they must prioritize a fair, ambitious, and binding climate treaty, to be sealed in Copenhagen.
· G20, 24/25 Sept., Pittsburgh, US – Heads of State and Finance Ministers should propose possible sources of funding to support the Treaty’s implementation in poor countries. They were charged by a previous meeting in Aquila, Italy to clarify potential sources for funding clean economic growth. WWF recommends $160 billion per year for climate action in developing countries. A preparatory meeting of finance ministers will take place next week (4/5 Sep) in London.
· UNFCCC Bangkok Intersessional, 28 Sep to 9 Oct – Negotiators need to make progress at this meeting. They need to cut down the current 170 pages of negotiations text by at least half – producing a clear draft text that has a realistic chance to be finalized and agreed to in Copenhagen.
What countries must deliver for Copenhagen to be a success:
In order to achieve a treaty which has the power to save the planet from devastating climate change, countries have to:
- Agree to a strong, legally binding climate regime for the period after 2012, by amending the Kyoto Protocol and agreeing to a new Copenhagen Protocol;
- Ensure that global carbon emissions peak by 2017 at the latest and decline quickly thereafter, with an aim to cutglobal emissions by at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050;
- Agree to decarbonize developed country economies by 2050 and to reduce their emissions by 40% below 1990 levels in 2020 as a first step;
- Facilitate the transition to low-carbon economies in developing countries by providing 160bn USD annually as financing for mitigation and adaptation and by providing access to clean technologies;
- Support immediate action for climate change adaptation in developing countries;
- Support a zero net deforestation target by 2020.
WWF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLICY EXPERTS:
Kim Carstensen, Leader of WWF Global Climate Initiative, [email protected] o) ,+45 35 24 78 60, m) +45 40 34 36 35;
Kathrin Gutmann, Head of Policy, WWF Global Climate Initiative, [email protected], +49 162 29 144 28
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