Home Tags Posts tagged with "climate change talks"

climate change talks

A climate deal final draft text has been reached after nearly two weeks of intensive negotiations, Paris climate talks organizers say.

An official in the office of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told the AFP the draft would be presented to ministers on December 12.

No details of the proposed agreement have been released so far.

The tentative deal was reached nearly 16 hours after the talks had been scheduled to close.

“We have a text to present,” the official said, adding that the draft would be now translated into the UN’s six official languages.Paris climate deal final draft

According to analysts, this is not a done deal – it will only be finally adopted if there are no objections raised at today’s ministerial meeting, and even this is unlikely to come before afternoon in Paris.

Laurent Fabius, who has presided over the talks, had said earlier that the “conditions were never better” for a strong and ambitious agreement.

One positive note came with the announcement that Brazil was willing to join the so-called “high-ambition coalition” of countries including the EU, the US and 79 countries. The alliance said it would push for an ambitious and legally binding deal with a strong review mechanism.

President Barack Obama spoke to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping by phone on December 11, with both leaders saying they were committed to an “ambitious” deal.

“Both leaders agreed that the Paris conference presents a crucial opportunity to galvanize global efforts to meet the climate change challenge,” a White House statement said.

“They committed that their negotiating teams in Paris would continue to work closely together and with others to realize the vision of an ambitious climate agreement.”

COP 21 – the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties – will see more than 190 nations gather in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the threat of dangerous warming due to human activities.Paris climate change conference key points

Major points of contention include:

  • Limits: The UN has endorsed a goal of limiting global warming to no more than 2C over pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. But more than 100 poorer countries and low-lying, small-island states are calling for a tougher goal of 1.5C.
  • Fairness: Developing nations say industrialized countries should do more to cut emissions, having polluted for much longer. However, rich countries insist that the burden must be shared to reach the 2C target.
  • Money: One of the few firm decisions from the 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen was a pledge from rich economies to provide $100 billion (93 billion euros) a year in financial support for poor countries from 2020 to develop technology and build infrastructure to cut emissions. Where that money will come from and how it will be distributed has yet to be agreed.