Tiempo Climate Newswatch

In his statement at the opening of the high-level segment of the Copenhagen climate summit, Yvo de Boer, head of the climate treaty secretariat, noted that compassion is what makes nations great. Unfortunately, much of the summit was notable more for expressions of naked self-interest and posturing than concern for the planet and its people. Rifts between the industrialized nations and the developing nations, and also within the G77 group of developing nations, brought the negotiations to a halt on a number of occasions, with disputes over who should commit to emissions constraints and whether the Kyoto Protocol has a future or not as well as anger over draft negotiating texts. Outside the conference centre, demonstrators met with determined opposition from the Danish police. As the high-level meeting of government leaders drew to a close, the Copenhagen Accord emerged, drafted by a five-nation group consisting of the United States and the BASIC countries of Brazil, South Africa, India and China. With a number of countries objecting that the Accord had not been reached by "due process" and lacked specific targets, the summit adopted a decision that merely took note of the agreement.

The Accord, which is not legally binding, commits signatories to "enhance long-term cooperative action," recognizing that "deep cuts in emissions are required according to science." It acknowledges the scientific view that the global temperature rise should be limited to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. There is provision for review in 2015, including "consideration of strengthening the long-term goal referencing various matters presented by the science, including in relation to temperature rises of 1.5 degrees Celsius." The Accord commits industrialized signatories to submit emissions targets for the year 2020, which will be appended to the agreement. International verification of emissions reduction will take place in these countries. Mitigation actions will be undertaken by developing nations and reported on, with some international checks though national sovereignty will be respected. In the case of the least developed countries and small island developing states, mitigation actions will be voluntary. The Accord commits the developed world to finding new and additional resources to support developing nations in the areas of mitigation, reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, adaptation, technology development and transfer and capacity building. The funding commitment is in line with an earlier proposal by the African nations: approaching US$30 billion over the period 2010-2012, rising to a target of US$100 billion in 2020. A significant portion of the funding will flow through the newly-established Copenhagen Green Climate Fund. The Accord itself contains no commitment to develop a legally-binding treaty by the end of 2010, though a proposal attached to the document does suggest this goal. A decision on the future of the Kyoto Protocol was deferred.

Barack Obama, United States president, described the Copenhagen Accord as an "unprecedented breakthrough" covering, as it does, action by both developed and developing nations. "We have come a long way, but we have much further to go," he said. Waiting to reach a full, binding agreement could have resulted in "such frustration and cynicism that rather than taking one step forward, we ended up taking two steps back," he continued. Venezuelan delegate Claudia Salerno Caldera, however, saw the deal as a "coup d'etat against the authority of the United Nations. "What we have after two years of negotiation is a half-baked text of unclear substance," said Kim Carstensen from WWF’s Global Climate Initiative. Oxfam International described the deal as a triumph of spin over substance. "This agreement barely papers over the huge differences between countries which have plagued these talks for two years," said Jeremy Hobbs, executive director of Oxfam International. The European Union had been sidelined during the drafting of the Accord, accepting the outcome on the basis that some agreement was better than none. German chancellor Angela Merkel said that she had "mixed feelings" about the Accord, which she regarded as only a first step. United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon acknowledged that the Copenhagen Accord was "not everything we had hoped for" but said that it was an "essential beginning. He stressed that a legally-binding agreement must be in place during 2010.

Japan has made the largest commitment of any industrialized nation in support for developing nations in their efforts to limit climate change and its impacts with a pledge of US$19.5 billion. "Japan as a country takes very seriously its responsibility in the international community," said environment minister Sakihito Ozawa.

The African group of nations, with backing from the European Union, advanced a financing plan at the Copenhagen climate summit, starting with US$30 billion over a three-year start-up period, rising to US$50 billion a year by 2015 and US$100 billion by the end of that decade. The proposal was incorporated, in broad outline, in the Copenhagen Accord, thereby securing the support of the Africa group of nations for the agreement. Announcing the plan, Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi suggested that 40 per cent of the start-up funds should go to Africa. Over the long-term, at least half the funding should be directed towards adaptation in vulnerable nations and poor countries and regions. "I know my proposal will disappoint those Africans who, from the point of view of justice, have asked for full compensation of the damage done to our development prospects. Because we have more to lose than others, we have to be prepared to be flexible," he said.

Good progress was made at the Copenhagen climate summit in developing the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) programme. The United States made a conditional pledge of one billion dollars towards initial financing over the period to 2012. "Protecting the world's forests is not a luxury. It's a necessity," said United States agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack. "This substantial commitment is reflective of our recognition that international public finance must play a role in developing countries' efforts to slow, halt and reverse deforestation," he continued. "This is what's needed to break the log jam of the REDD negotiations here in Copenhagen and spark the additional funding needed to address the global challenge of deforestation," commented Andrew Deutz from The Nature Conservancy.

New Zealand launched the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases in Copenhagen. The Alliance involves 20 or more countries in a multi-year programme aimed at reducing emissions from livestock, cropping and rice production. "Fourteen per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions are from agriculture, but for New Zealand and parts of the developing world, that figure is much higher," said Tim Groser, New Zealand's associate climate change issues minister. "There is an urgent need to develop technologies and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sequestration in agriculture while enhancing food security," he added. The United States Department of Agriculture will expand research on climate change mitigation in this sector by US$90 million over the next four years. "No single nation has all of the resources needed to tackle agricultural greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time enhancing food production and food security," observed agriculture secretary Vilsack. "We will not only pool our talents and existing resources but draw new resources, and even new scientists, to better understand climate change in an agricultural context and in so doing tackle one of the most important international issues of our time."