Tiempo Climate Newswatch

"Copenhagen can and must be a turning point in the world’s efforts to prevent runaway climate change," charged United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon as the Copenhagen climate summit got underway. "Our target, our goal, is to have a legally binding treaty... as soon as possible in 2010," he said. "But before that, we must have a strong political agreement in Copenhagen... The more ambitious, the stronger agreement we have in Copenhagen, the easier, the quicker the process we will have to a legally binding treaty in 2010," he continued. "This is our commitment." As the summit opened, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, prime minister of Denmark, observed that climate change knows no borders. "It does not discriminate, it affects us all," he said. "And we are here today because we are all committed to take action. That is our common point of departure - the magnitude of the challenge before us is to translate this political will into a strong political approach."

According to Yvo de Boer, head of the climate treaty secretariat, it is likely that negotiators will work towards two agreements: first, a second period under the Kyoto Protocol and, second, a new treaty under the convention that could be ratified later by all nations including the United States. "What I’m also hoping is that decisions that come out of this meeting will make immediate action possible," he said. "The decision would say a financial mechanism is hereby established, a technology framework is hereby created, an adaptation programme is hereby approved." The United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico and Norway have proposed a set of guiding principles for "green funds," which they hope will break the deadlock over support for developing country action on emissions mitigation and adaptation.

During the first week of the Copenhagen climate summit, Tuvalu and other smaller developing nations made waves by proposing discussions on a legally-binding amendment to the Kyoto Protocol that would, for the first time, set emissions targets for major developing nations such as China and India. "We know the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol is not complete and we want to create an impulse for a stronger commitment," said Taukiei Kitara from Tuvalu's delegation. The move was opposed by the larger developing nations and disagreement over whether to proceed through open contact group or informal private discussions proved difficult to resolve.

A leaked negotiating text developed by the Danish government has angered developing nations. The anger is, in part, directed at what is perceived as a secretive and exclusive process, but there is also serious concern that the current draft makes no mention of extension of the Kyoto Protocol, a goal that developing nations regard as an essential commitment on the part of the industrialized world. Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, speaking for the Group of 77 developing nations, described the draft as a "serious violation that threatens the success of the Copenhagen negotiating process." The Danish government was quick to respond that the text was not a "secret Danish draft" for a new climate change agreement. "In this kind of process, many different working papers are circulated amongst many different parties with their hands on the process," a statement from the Danish Ministry of Energy and Climate said. "These papers are the basis for informal consultations that contribute with input used for testing various positions." A proposed accord drafted by China, India, South Africa and Brazil has also been leaked. The accord would commit industrialized nations to "multiply by eight" their commitment under the existing Kyoto Protocol for a second, seven-year period to 2020. The commitment, a reduction in emissions of around 40 per cent below 1990 levels, must be made "mainly through domestic measures."

The first decade of the present century is "by far" the warmest since instrumental climate records began in the 19th century, according to the latest data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 2009 is set to become the fifth warmest year on record. "We've seen above average temperatures in most continents, and only in North America were there conditions that were cooler than average," reported WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud. "We are in a warming trend - we have no doubt about it," he continued.

Asked whether the recent theft of data, computer programs and emails from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, Jarraud responded that the temperature estimates came from three independent sources and they all showed the same result. Vicky Pope from the United Kingdom Met Office said that the figures "highlight that the world continues to see global temperatures rise, most of which is due to increasing emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere." The evidence "clearly shows that the argument that global warming has stopped is flawed," she concluded.