Hillarysworld

Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Post Info
TOPIC: "Copenhagen climate deal meets qualified UN welcome" (BBC News 12/20/09)


Diamond

Status: Offline
Posts: 4567
Date:
"Copenhagen climate deal meets qualified UN welcome" (BBC News 12/20/09)
Permalink  
 


BBC

Copenhagen climate deal meets qualified UN welcome

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed a US-backed climate deal in Copenhagen as an "essential beginning".

But he said the accord, reached with key nations including China and Brazil, must be made legally binding next year.

After intense wrangling, delegates passed a motion simply taking note of the deal, without formally adopting it.

 

The pact did not win unanimous support, amid outrage from some developing nations who said it lacked specific targets for reducing carbon emissions.

US-LED COPENHAGEN DEAL

  • No reference to legally binding agreement
  • Recognises the need to limit global temperatures rising no more than 2C above pre-industrial levels
  • Developed countries to "set a goal of mobilising jointly $100bn a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries"
  • On transparency: Emerging nations monitor own efforts and report to UN every two years. Some international checks
  • No detailed framework on carbon markets - "various approaches" will be pursued
Updated: 13:47 GMT, 19 December
inline_dashed_line.gif

The accord includes a recognition to limit temperature rises to less than 2C and promises to deliver $30bn (£18.5bn) of aid for developing nations over the next three years.

It outlines a goal of providing $100bn a year by 2020 to help poor countries cope with the impacts of climate change.

The agreement also includes a method for verifying industrialised nations' reduction of emissions. The US had insisted that China dropped its resistance to this measure.

But the BBC's environment correspondent Richard Black says the Copenhagen Accord looks unlikely to contain temperature rises to within the 2C (3.6F) threshold that UN scientists say is needed to avert serious climate change.

US President Barack Obama described negotiations as "extremely difficult and complex", but said they had laid "the foundation for international action in the years to come".

"This progress did not come easily, and we know that progress on this particular aspect of climate change negotiations is not enough," he added.

'Toothless failure'

Several South American countries, such as Nicaragua and Venezuela, were among a group saying the agreement had not been reached through proper process.

o.gif
AT THE SCENE
Richard Black
Richard Black,
BBC News environment correspondent
Ministers and scientists and campaigners who dedicated huge swathes of the last year to making a tough deal happen watched aghast as Chinese and US leaders and their entourages flew in, took over the agenda and emerged with what was basically their own private deal, with leaders announcing it live on television before others realised it had happened.

As you'd expect, leaders from EU countries and the developing world that really don't like this deal have been assuming rictus grins and telling us it's a "good first step".

Problem is, Bali in 2007 was the "first step"; come to that, Rio in 1992 was the "first step". Where we go from here isn't clear at the moment.

After an all-night negotiating marathon, the 193-nation two-week conference ended at 1426 GMT on Saturday.

"The conference decides to take note of the Copenhagen Accord of December 18, 2009," the chairman of the plenary session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) declared earlier in the day, swiftly banging down his gavel.

Environmental campaigners and aid agencies branded the deal toothless and a failure.

Robert Bailey, of Oxfam International, said: "It is too late to save the summit, but it's not too late to save the planet and its people."

Mr Ban told journalists: "It may not be everything we hoped for, but this decision of the Conference of Parties is an essential beginning."

The Copenhagen Accord is based on a proposal tabled on Friday by a US-led group of five nations - including China, India, Brazil and South Africa.

The UK's Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said it was very important that the adoption of the accord would allow the flow of money to begin.

But, he said: "We recognise there could have been more ambition in parts of this agreement. Therefore we have got to drive forward as hard as we can towards both a legally binding treaty and that ambition."

o.gif
THE COPENHAGEN ACCORD

Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader

Delegates had battled through the night to prevent the talks ending without clinching an agreement.

The deal was lambasted by some developing nations when it was put to a full session of the UNFCCC.

The main opposition came from the ALBA bloc of Latin American countries to which Nicaragua and Venezuela belong, along with Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia.

More . . .



__________________
Democracy needs defending - SOS Hillary Clinton, Sept 8, 2010
Democracy is more than just elections - SOS Hillary Clinton, Oct 28, 2010

Madam Secretary Blog at ForeignPolicy.com
Project Vote Smart - Stay informed and engaged!


Administrator

Status: Offline
Posts: 2818
Date:
Permalink  
 

I think that like the Health care bill this agreement tried to please everyone.  I also don't think the USA should or could come up with a billion dollars.  The Democrats are still spending wildly which is going to cause them to lose their jobs.



__________________

4459303562_3f593359a2_m.jpg

Page 1 of 1  sorted by
 
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.

Tweet this page Post to Digg Post to Del.icio.us


Create your own FREE Forum
Report Abuse
Powered by ActiveBoard