Tiempo Climate Newswatch

"Climate change is an issue that affects life on a planetary scale," said Mexican president Felipe Calderón in his opening speech to participants at the Cancún climate summit. "What this means is that you will not be here alone negotiating in Cancún. By your side, there will be billions of human beings, expecting you to work for all of humanity," he continued. Major issues at the summit include the future of the Kyoto Protocol and formalizing emissions commitments made by nations under the Copenhagen Accord.

The mobilization of long-term finance in support of developing country mitigation and adaptation efforts is a critical item on the summit agenda, including the creation of a new fund and accountability of its delivery. Also on the agenda are accountability for implementation of mitigation targets and actions and how fairness can guide long-term mitigation efforts. Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, called on delegates to reach an outcome that is both firm and dependable with a dedicated follow-on process for future work. "When the stakes are high and issues are challenging, compromise is an act of wisdom that can unite different positions in creative ways. I am convinced that governments can compromise to find their way to a concrete outcome," she said. Around 15,000 people are participating in the summit.

Japan has said that it will not support extension of the Kyoto Protocol from 2012. Environment minister Ryu Matsumoto described the treaty as "outdated" as it only covered nations responsible for 27 per cent of world emissions. Japan wants a global treaty. "It does not make sense to set the second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol as the current Kyoto Protocol is imposing obligation on only a small part of developed countries," said Japanese negotiator Hideki Minamikawa.

"With this position, Japan isolates itself from the rest of the world. Even worse, this step undermines the ongoing talks and is a serious threat to the progress needed here in Cancún," said Yuri Onodera of Friends of the Earth Japan. Developing nations see progress on the future of the Kyoto Protocol as a prerequisite for a broader global agreement. "The fate of the Kyoto Protocol is going to cast a shadow over what we’re trying to do here on all the other building blocks of a climate agreement," commented Jake Schmidt of the Natural Resources Defense Council in the United States.

The World Meteorological Organization has reported that global temperature estimates for the year to date indicate that 2010 is set to be one of the three warmest years since 1850. Adam Scaife from the United Kingdom Met Office noted that "2010 is clearly warmer than 2009 despite El Niño declining and being replaced by a very strong La Niña, which has a cooling effect." Because of continued La Niña cooling, 2011 is considered unlikely to be a record year.

The most extreme high temperature departures from normal over land during 2010 have occurred in two major regions: across much of Canada and Greenland and over most of the northern half of Africa and south Asia. The tropical North Atlantic was especially warm. Areas that have been colder than normal during 2010 include parts of western and central Siberia in Russia, parts of southern South America, interior Australia, parts of northern and western Europe, eastern China and the southeast United States. A number of northern European countries may have their coolest year since 1996, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Norway.