What would be in the ideal climate agreement?
There are the 10 little points which will help us face climate change and start the basis of a new, cleaner economy:
- Governments need to create a legally binding framework with an amended Kyoto Protocol, which secures the survival of countries, cultures and ecosystems and clears the way to the low carbon economy.
- Global emissions peak before 2017 keeping overall warming well below the 2°C danger threshold, going down to below 1.5°C as soon as possible.
- Industrialized countries commit to reduce their emissions by 40% by 2020, compared to 1990 levels.
- Developing countries agree to undertake significant action making emissions at least 30% lower than Business-As-Usual by 2020.
- Emissions from forest destruction are reduced by three quarters (75%) by 2020, taking into account indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights.
- A framework for immediate adaptation action is set in place, especially for vulnerable countries and ecosystems, including the provision of insurance and compensation.
- Public finance of at least US$160 billion per year is provided to developing countries for adaptation and mitigation through innovative sources of finance.
- Mechanisms are set up to strengthen technology cooperation on research, development and dissemination of low-carbon and climate-resilient technologies.
- A new institutional set-up under the UNFCCC allows for coordination, implementation and funding allocation, in a transparent and democratic way, and incentivizes compliance.
- Parties agree transparent and comparable standards for carbon markets, forests and land use, mitigation efforts and inventories, and ways to limit international aviation and shipping emissions.
Did we get a Real Deal?
Kim Carstensen, WWF's Head of Delegation.
19 Dec, 2009, 02.56 CET
Some would define the task as “expensive”.
Indeed, it will require trust between nations as serious cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases are pledged, along with large flows of money and technologies from rich to poor nations.
BUT IT IS ESSENTIAL.
It will be based on the polluter-pays principle, on the historically high emissions of developed nations and on the capacity of the rich nations to help the poor.
And we will all benefit from this North/South “burden sharing”.