The difficult task of melding Kyoto with the voluntary pledges of countries made more loosely as part of last year’s Copenhagen Accord, was seemingly resolved by inclusive language.

Both texts – one dealing with Kyoto and a second focusing on ”long-term co-operative action” – simply ”take note” of the emissions targets to be implemented by developed and developing countries under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

While not strictly legally binding, the decision gave legitimacy to those pledges made under the Accord by 85 nations, which account for about 80 per cent of global emissions, to reduce or slow their emissions up to 2020.

”take note” and “not strictly legally binding”,

Wasn’t that what was decided at Copenhagen?

Progress indeed.

Cost of redundant ”take note” and “not strictly legally binding”:-

Nearly $80 million and 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide

http://images.smh.com.au/2010/12/12/2091321/cancun-420×0.jpg

“The Green Climate Fund will initially use the World Bank as a trustee – as the US, EU and Japan had demanded – while giving oversight to a new body balanced between developed and developing countries.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11975470

The UNs out of the loop on that one.

I don’t think the UN has got their mitts on the $31 billion either. The donor countries don’t seem to have released any of it so far.

Last Updated: Monday, 23 April 2007, 12:14 GMT 13:14 UK

Singer Sheryl Crow has said a ban on using too much toilet paper should be introduced to help the environment.

Crow has suggested using “only one square per restroom visit, except, of course, on those pesky occasions where two to three could be required”.

The 45-year-old, who made the comments on her website, has just toured the US on a biodiesel-powered bus to raise awareness about climate change.

She teamed up with environmental activist Laurie David for the shows.

The pair targeted 11 university campuses to persuade students to help combat the world’s environmental problems.

“I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting” Sheryl Crow

“I have spent the better part of this tour trying to come up with easy ways for us all to become a part of the solution to global warming,” Crow wrote.

“Although my ideas are in the earliest stages of development, they are, in my mind, worth investigating.

Crow has also commented on her website about how she thinks paper napkins “represent the height of wastefulness”.

She has designed a clothing line with what she calls a “dining sleeve”.

The sleeve is detachable and can be replaced with another “dining sleeve” after the diner has used it to wipe his or her mouth.

o Pledges for short-term finance – for 2010 – 2012: EU 10.6 bn, Japan 11 bn, USA 3.6 (does NOT add up to $ 30 bn)

http://ercatcop15.wordpress.com/

British High Commission in Wellington says

“That’s why we’ve pledged to provide £1.5bn in fast start finance over 3 years to developing countries, with £300m of that ring fenced for protecting forests.”

http://ukinnewzealand.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/working-with-new-zealand/climate-change/

But the funding does not seem to be forthcoming

e.g. Samoa and Solomon Islands are grumpy
——————————————————————————————————————–
Samoa and Solomon Islands raise questions on fast track finance

By Makereta Komai, Climate Pasifika Media, Cancun, Mexico

30 NOVEMBER 2010 CANCUN, MEXICO — Hopes of accessing US$10 billion in fast track finance promised at last year’s climate change negotiations is slowly turning to despair for many vulnerable nations, whose interests were prioritised in the Copenhagen Accord.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1012/S00050/cancun-samoa-and-solomon-islands-raise-questions-on-finance.htm
——————————————————————————————————————–
So if small countries can’t get access to $10bn from last year, fat chance for next year and beyond.

Australia __________500m
EU _______________10bn
Japan ____________15bn
NZ _______________0
Norway ___________357m
Switzerland ________130m
US _______________4.8bn
Total ____________31.2bn (from source above)

Also

UK _______________£1.5bn Source (probably part of EU figure – dunno for sure)

Climate | 11.12.2010 DW-WORLD.DE

German ministers welcomed a historic compromise at international climate negotiations in Mexico. The deal provides billions to developing countries and defers extending emissions cuts under the Kyoto Protocol.

After two weeks of meetings in Cancun, officials from 194 countries reached a consensus on several important measures for tackling climate change, despite fears that the talks would end in failure on Friday and even early Saturday morning.

“This is a new era of international cooperation on climate change,” Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa, who chaired the summit of 194 nations, told delegates after the compromise was reached.

Praise for Mexico from Germany

Germany has welcomed the “successful” conclusion to the UN summit. German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle thanked his Mexican counterpart who chaired the summit, saying that Patricia Espinosa had been “prudent and clever” in the way she led negotiations.

German environment minister Norbert Roettgen echoed his colleague, saying Espinosa’s very broad interpretation of UN rules was the crowning highlight of impressive conference leadership.

Westerwelle said in a statement, “Cancun has shown that it is possible to achieve a balance of interests between developing and industrialized nations.”

“Now we must use the momentum to achieve a globally binding climate protection agreement and resolve the open issues,” Westerwelle added. He stressed that Germany and the European Union would continue to drive this process.

A compromise agreement

Breakthroughs include tougher targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the principle of basing these targets on what science demands and the establishment of a Green Fund for developing countries.

The meeting does not establish a new global, legally binding treaty to tackle climate change, but it provides some of the essential building blocks bringing that goal significantly closer.

Only Bolivia has publically objected to the text, but its objections were overruled by the summit’s chair.

“We clearly stated and would now like to reiterate that we are opposed to this decision and we feel that there is no consensus for its approval,” said Pablo Salon, the head of Bolivia’s delegation.

Major powers – including the United States, China, India, Japan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the European Union – have emerged as supporters of the draft deal, which resolves key stumbling blocks that threatened to torpedo the past two weeks of negotiations.

“We have seen remarkable progress,” Espinosa said.

Chief US negotiator Todd Stern said the deal “while not perfect, is certainly a good basis for moving forward.”

Climate Fund a key step forward

One of the most significant decisions at Cancun was the agreement to establish a Green Fund worth $100 billion (70 billion euros) a year that is to assist developing countries in their response to climate change as of 2020.

The idea was originally put forward in Copenhagen last year, yet at times it seemed unlikely to gain approval in Cancun.

Negotiators often seemed unable to resolve differences over what to discuss first: Whether to create the fund or how it should be managed.

Greenpeace International Climate Policy Director Wendel Trio told Deutsche Welle the decision to establish the fund was a “significant” step forward.

Providing the finance that developing countries will need to cope with climate change is seen as a major sticking point for unlocking other areas of the talks, such as how they account for their climate actions.

Industrialized countries seem to have won out on control of the fund. Their preferred institution, the Word Bank, will act as a trustee, albeit for a trial period of three years.

Trio said one of the biggest challenges for the next 12 months would be agreeing upon where the money should come from, as this was left unresolved by the Cancun deal.

Aiming higher

On the emissions front, parties agreed to raise targets to cut greenhouse gasses to between 25 percent and 40 percent of 1990 levels by the end of the decade. This is roughly double the average of wealthy nations’ current pledges.

It is also closer to the range of emissions cuts which scientists say will be needed to avoid a rise in global average surface temperatures of more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F).

An ambition to limit global warming to below 2 degrees is also contained in the text, together with a reference to reviewing whether it might be possible to aim for 1.5 degrees.

The latter goal is what many small island states are holding out for, in the fear that a 2-degree rise in temperatures will see their islands submerged by rising sea levels.

Kyoto deferred

One delegation after another praised Mexico’s stewardship of the negotiations, describing the atmosphere as “transparent,” “inclusive,” “constructive” and the outcome as “balanced.”

As chair of the event, Espinosa played a vital role in defusing a conflict over the future of the Kyoto Protocol that had threatened to wreck the talks up until the final hours of negotiations.

Japan has long objected to the fact that Kyoto does nothing to restrain the emissions of China and the United States, the world’s top two polluters.

In Cancun, Japan declared that it would not commit to a second period of Kyoto after the first period expires in 2012, and was eventually joined in this stance by Russia and Canada.

Members of the World Wildlife Fund stand around a map made of candles in support fo a climate dealBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Environmentalists have been mostly positive about the climate talks

This was unacceptable for developing countries, especially China.

For them, Kyoto, the only legally binding agreement to date to limit greenhouse gas emissions, is a milestone for recognizing the different responsibilities of rich and poor countries in responding to climate change.

The conference’s final text overcame the stand-off by deferring a decision on Kyoto’s future to next year.

The text suggests that there should be no “gap” between Kyoto’s first and second periods, but it also leaves the door open for Japan to walk away from the protocol if it wishes.

Forestry deal

Forestry groups gave their qualified approval of Cancun’s decision on a scheme known as REDD, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation.

“After three years of hard negotiations we have a basis for combating deforestation integrated in an agreement on climate which marks an important step,” said Rosalind Reeve, from Global Witness, an organization focused on resource exploitation.

REDD seeks to reward developing countries for maintaining their forests instead of clearing them for other economic pursuits.

Green groups cautiously optimistic

Environmentalists have also been mostly positive of the compromise. Tim Gore of the anti-poverty group, Oxfam, welcomed the Green Climate Fund and said the draft accord “breathes new life” into the UN-sponsored climate talks.

Still, the deal is less the goal of establishing legally binding emissions cuts, which many countries had set ahead of last year’s summit in Copenhagen.

“The outcome of Cancun climate talks is weak and ineffective but at least a small and fragile lifeline,” Friends of the Earth UK said in an online statement.

Author: Nathan Witkop, in Cancun; Gregg Benzow, Joanna Impey (dpa, AFP, Reuters)

Editor: Ben Knight