Brussels, 13/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - Given the limited expectations ahead of the UN's climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico (COP 16, 29 November - 10 December), it is being hailed as a success by the EU. Although nothing spectacular, the agreement reached by the end of COP16 on Saturday morning on a series of decisions has been described by the EU as an “an important step towards a global framework for climate action”. Compared with the Copenhagen Agreement, that could not be officially adopted because of opposition from a handful of countries, the last-ditch compromise reached at Cancun by the 192 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is generally seen as a good step forward because it puts multilateralism back in the driving seat. Although they are not binding, the two items agreed by consensus - one on the Kyoto Protocol and one on a long-term cooperation system - pave the way for a binding global agreement in Durban, South Africa, next year (COP 17), or so the Europeans hope. A number of charities, however, criticise the meagre outcome from Cancun, slamming the world's rich countries for their hypocrisy.
The Cancun Agreement acknowledges for the first time in a UN document that global warming must be kept below 2°C compared with the pre-industrial temperature. The emission pledges of developed and developing countries have been anchored in the UN process and a process set out to help clarify them. The text recognises that overall mitigation efforts need to be scaled up in order to stay within the 2°C ceiling and there is agreement to launch a process to strengthen the transparency of actions to reduce or limit emissions so that overall progress can be tracked more effectively. There has been confirmation of the goal that developed countries will mobilise US$ 100 billion in climate funding for developing countries annually by 2020, and of the establishment of a Green Climate Fund through which much of the funding will be channelled. The launch of a “REDD+” mechanism has been agreed to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and agreement to consider setting up new carbon market mechanisms going beyond a project-based approach. The development and transfer of technology from rich to poor countries will be stepped up. The adequacy of the 2°C target will be reviewed in 2015 to see whether increasing it to 1.5°C should be considered. The work of the ad hoc working groups under the UN climate change convention and the Kyoto Protocol has been extended for a further year while leaving open the legal form of the eventual outcome of the negotiations.
Work must continue. Connie Hedegaard, EU Climate Action Commissioner, said: “The EU came to Cancun to get a substantial package of action-oriented decisions and keep the international climate change negotiations on track. We have helped to deliver the successful outcome the world expected and needed. But the two weeks in Cancun have shown once again how slow and difficult the process is. Everyone needs to be aware that we still have a long and challenging journey ahead of us to reach the goal of a legally binding global climate framework”. Speaking on behalf of the Belgian Presidency, Joke Schauvliege said: “The EU has worked tirelessly to be a bridge-builder in Cancun while also advancing its positions. The EU has reported transparently on the progress it has made in mobilising the €7.2 billion of fast-start funding it has pledged over 2010-2012 and we will continue to do so on an annual basis. We congratulate the Mexican presidency on conducting an exemplary conference.”
EU 2050 strategy to be unveiled in spring 2011. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, pointed out that the EU has set itself ambitious energy and climate targets for 2010 and “next spring the European Commission will present a strategy for completing the transition to a low-carbon economy by 2050”. Given the slow progress in the talks, Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, said that the EU should continue to apply pressure on the rest of the world to achieve a more ambitious agreement in the future. His comments were echoed by Wendel Trio of Greenpeace International, who said that Cancun might have saved the process but has not done anything to save the climate. It gave an impetus, he said, but a new global agreement will be needed in Durban to help countries build a green economy and make polluters accountable for their behaviour. Charity CanEurope commented that the outcome of Cancun gave hope that a new global climate treaty might be signed in the future, hoping that the EU will increase its targets to a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. “Governments first took one step back but then two forward, all in the face of blocking tactics from industrialised countries like the USA and Japan that could have prevented an agreement”, commented Matthias Duwe, director of CanEurope, adding that the political will to take radical action is not strong enough to provide a suitable response to the threat of climate chaos. Friends of the Earth International said: “Cancun has failed to make progress on the most essential part: steep binding emissions cuts for developed countries”, and the agreement “provides a platform for abandoning the Kyoto Protocol, replacing it with a weak pledge and review system as a legacy of the Copenhagen Accord, that would lead to a devastating five degree Celsius warming”. (A.N./transl.fl)