COP 15 Agreement

The summary of resolutions from COP 15 shows in effect only a cursory series of agreements and not sufficient to combat carbon emissions in the degree necessary.  Further negotiations will occur in the next year so it is hoped that these may produce more tangible results.

GLOBAL WARMING ‘‘should be (kept) below two degrees Celsius’’, says the draft. But it does not identify a year by which carbon emissions should peak, a position resisted by emerging giants. Countries are asked to spell out by February 1 next year their pledges for curbing carbon emissions by 2020. The deal does not spell out penalties for any country that fails to meet its promise.

FUNDS: Rich countries are pledging $US10 billion in the three years from 2010-2012 to help poor countries tackle climate change. They also set the goal of ‘‘mobilising jointly’’ $US100 billion a year by 2020, drawn from ‘‘a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance.’’

VERIFICATION: The pledges of rich countries will come ‘‘under rigorous, robust and transparent’’ scrutiny under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Developing countries will submit national reports on their emissions pledges under a method ‘‘that will ensure that national sovereignty is respected.’’ Pledges on mitigation measures that require international support will be recorded in a registry.

MID-CENTURY TARGETS: The text does not endorse the goal of halving the global output of carbon pollution by mid-century, an objective many rich countries endorse. Emerging giants mainly China and India have said they are unwilling to back such a target.

LEGALLY-BINDING TREATY: There is no deadline for transforming the objectives outlined in the accord into a legally-binding treaty. It had been widely expected that the text would call for a treaty to be finalised before the end of 2010.