Brussels, 30/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - Thus far, on the day before the 31 March deadline, 31 parties to the global climate negotiations under the aegis of the United Nations and its conference on climate change (UNFCCC) have submitted their offerings (known as intended nationally determined contribution - INDC) for the talks to sign a new global climate agreement at the COP 21 climate summit in Paris in December 2015. The agreement would come into force in 2020.
Norway sent in its INDC on Friday 27 March (offering to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% on the 1990 levels), and the European Union and Switzerland had already also done. The United States is expected to provide its offering any time now, as the US administration has promised to meet the 31 March deadline set for the world's leading economies and other economies able to meet the deadline.
Thirty-one contributions from the total of 196 are not very many, and Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC executive secretary, encouraged countries to submit their INDC as soon as possible in order to ensure the success of the COP 21 talks.
Switzerland was the first country to provide an offering, sending in its INDC on 27 February (offering to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% by 2030). The European Union was the first bloc of countries to provide its INDC, which it did on 11 March, proposing a collective reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 40% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels (see EUROPE 11272).
The United States is expected to announce a figure in line with the joint US-China commitment announced in November (a 26-28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for the United States by 2025 compared with 2005 levels - in other words, a 14% reduction compared with 1990 levels - well below the EU's INDC).
Nevertheless, if the US commitment is confirmed, then it is much more ambitious in terms of annual reductions post-2020 because it foresees a 2% reduction each year, as compared with the EU's annual reduction of only around 1.5% a year, pointed out CAN Europe (Climate Action Network Europe), a coalition of 120 climate NGOs from 30 countries.
Wendel Trio, CAN Europe's director, said the United States' commitment was well below what science recommended to deal with climate change, but the current US administration is the only one to have recently committed to taking action for the climate. The United States is the world's second largest emitter (following China) and Trio said that its commitment would certainly give a boost to the Paris talks. CAN Europe expects the other big emitters, including China, Japan and Australia, to submit their INDC as soon as possible.
The draft of the negotiating document for the future global agreement was sent to all parties on 26 February and the next round of talks is scheduled in Bonn, Germany, for 1-11 June. (Aminata Niang)