Another leaked document from Copenhagen

This goes a long way toward bridging the gap between the rich and poor countries and has helped moved the negotiations forward. We were hoping Canada would step up with its own announcement today, but we’re still waiting.

The excitement in the afternoon, however, has been the buzz around a leaked internal UN report. It said that even with the most optimistic assumptions, existing commitments would lock us into at least 3 degrees Celsius of global warming. This is far above the danger level of 2 degrees of warming that the G8 countries have set as their maximum temperature target and the 1.5 degrees being asked for by the countries most vulnerable to flooding.

This wasn’t a complete surprise. Groups like WWF had been saying for quite a while that current commitments would result in 3 – 4 degrees of warming, but this was an internal UN document telling the countries who are doing the negotiating the same thing.

What was a surprise to me, however, was the UN document’s finding that when you add up the various commitments to reduce emissions, the developing countries have committed to reductions (from a business-as-usual scenario) roughly twice as large as those made by the wealthy nations that have created 75 per cent of the existing problem.

So maybe we should stop using supposed inaction by China and India as an excuse not to act, and get on with the job.

Keith Stewart, Ph.D.
Director, Climate Change