Climate Change Negotiations in 2010
| The Eighth Informal Meeting on Further Action against Climate Change took place in Tokyo, on 1-2 March 2010. In his addressing the participants in the meeting Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, summarised the results from Copenhagen and the pledges for GHG reduction submitted by developed and developing countries by 18 February 2010. Further in his speech Yvo de Boer pointed out the priorities for 2010 - to reach consensus on as many of the outstanding issues as possible. |
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As clear evidence of the UNFCCC Parties’ will to act in order to move forward in solving the global climate change problems, Yvo de Boer quoted the current state of the Copenhagen Accord- by 18 February more than 100 Parties had stated that they wish to be associated with the Accord, 40 developed countries had submitted their 2020 targets with various base years. These Parties represent around 90 percent of emissions from this group of Parties. In addition, thirty developing countries had communicated information on their mitigation plans, either in economy-wide terms or in specific actions.
The main priorities in the negotiation process in 2010 according to the UNFCCC Executive Secretary should be the issues which were not resolved in Copenhagen. These are issues which were close to conclusion; unresolved political issues, on which the Copenhagen Accord provides useful points of convergence to unlock negotiations; and remaining crunch issues, on which the Copenhagen Accord did not add much.
Further on, Yvo de Boer states that negotiations under the Bali Road Map need to be concluded in Cancun, Mexico (where the next UN climate conference will take place in December). Where applicable, the points of convergence in the Copenhagen Accord could be utilized for this purpose. Some examples of issues to be agreed upon in Mexico, which he pointed out, are how to translate the long-term goal into the required emission reductions, the MRV arrangements for developing countries, and how to reach the goal of mobilizing USD 100 billion by 2020 pledged by developed countries.
According to Yvo de Boer, Parties need to know and plan for what they are working towards. Many Parties have called for a legally binding instrument to be ready for adoption in Mexico, while other Parties have made it clear that they are not ready for such a step.
The EU, for instance, believes a legally binding international climate treaty is unlikely to be agreed at the next UN climate conference in Cancún, according to a draft European Commission Communication released on 9 March by the European Commission’s new Climate Action DG. Ms Hedegaard, the European Commissioner for the Climate Action believes the EU should look to the UN climate conference in South Africa at the end of 2011 for a treaty. In Mexico this year, world governments should agree on concrete steps towards a deal that would limit global warming to 2oC. Mexico could focus on several specific issues rather than everything.
The first, out of two negotiating sessions in 2010, will take place on 9-11 April in Bonn. At this meeting senior officials of signatories of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will decide upon the next steps towards the new climate change deal. In Bonn the negotiators will be asked to sketch out a work programme for the end of the year, Danish news agency Ritzau reported.
Additional information:
Speech of Yvo de Boer (full text, PDF)
Source: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; European Commission