Crunch time after all-night climate talks

Paris cop 21

Weary envoys from 195 nations battling to forge an accord to save mankind from disastrous global warming emerged yesterday from all-night talks facing an imminent deadline with deal-breaking rows still unresolved, reports AFP.
More than two decades of bruising international diplomacy have failed to produce such a pact, which would require the world’s energy system to cut back on burning coal, oil and gas that releases planet-warming gases.
The 195-nation UN talks in the French capital have been billed as the last chance to avert worst-case-scenario climate change impacts: increasingly severe drought, floods and storms, as well as island-engulfing rising seas.
After nine days of tense negotiations, French Foreign Minister and conference host Laurent Fabius released a draft Wednesday of the final accord to be used as the basis for final negotiations.
Fabius has set an ambitious deadline of Friday for the deal to be reached, and negotiators met through the night to debate the text at a sprawling conference venue in Le Bourget on the northern outskirts of Paris.
“We are progressing well. We spent the whole night on it again,” Fabius said on Thursday morning.
“In the afternoon I will propose a new text that takes into account everything I have been told. I hope, I hope that tomorrow we will have finished.”
But Fabius announced no breakthroughs in any of the biggest arguments—primarily between developing and developed nations—that have derailed previous UN efforts to forge an accord.
They include over how to pay for the costly shift to renewable energy, and how to compensate the developing nations who are feeling the biggest impacts of climate change but have emitted the least greenhouse gases.
Embarking on a final session of the marathon talks on Wednesday night, a host of nations from all sides of the disputes voiced their entrenched positions.
“Many options cross our red lines,” Luxembourg negotiator Carole Dieschbourg, representing the European Union, told other delegates.
One of the key battle lines is what cap on global warming to enshrine in the accord, set to take effect in 2020.
Many nations most vulnerable to climate change want to limit warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels.
However several big polluters, such as the United States, China and India, prefer a ceiling of 2C, which would allow them to burn fossil fuels for a while longer.
Barbados’s Environment Minister, Denis Lowe, representing a bloc of Caribbean nations among the most vulnerable to rising sea levels, told the late-night session 1.5C was non-negotiable.
“We will not sign off on an agreement that represents the certain extinction of our people,” Lowe said.
Many other ministers echoed their nations’ long-held positions.
Still, most also said the draft was an acceptable blueprint to work from, and they were prepared to continue negotiating.
One of the biggest potential deal-busters remains money.
Rich countries promised six years ago in Copenhagen to muster $100 billion (92 billion euros) a year from 2020 to help developing nations make the costly shift to clean energy, and to cope with the impact of global warming.
But how the pledged funds will be raised still remains unclear—and developing countries are pushing for a promise that the amount will be ramped up in future.
Meanwhile, rich nations are insisting that developing giants work harder to tackle their greenhouse gases, noting that much of the world’s emissions come from their fast-growing economies.

Crunch time after all-night climate talks

Paris cop 21

Weary envoys from 195 nations battling to forge an accord to save mankind from disastrous global warming emerged yesterday from all-night talks facing an imminent deadline with deal-breaking rows still unresolved, reports AFP. More than two decades of bruising international diplomacy have failed to produce such a pact, which would require the worlds energy system to cut back on burning coal, oil and gas that releases planet-warming gases. The 195-nation UN talks in the French capital have been billed as the last chance to avert worst-case-scenario climate change impacts: increasingly severe drought, floods and storms, as well as island-engulfing rising seas. After nine days of tense negotiations, French Foreign Minister and conference host Laurent Fabius released a draft Wednesday of the final accord to be used as the basis for final negotiations. Fabius has set an ambitious deadline of Friday for the deal to be reached, and negotiators met through the night to debate the text at a sprawling conference venue in Le Bourget on the northern outskirts of Paris. We are progressing well. We spent the whole night on it again, Fabius said on Thursday morning. In the afternoon I will propose a new text that takes into account everything I have been told. I hope, I hope that tomorrow we will have finished. But Fabius announced no breakthroughs in any of the biggest argumentsprimarily between developing and developed nationsthat have derailed previous UN efforts to forge an accord. They include over how to pay for the costly shift to renewable energy, and how to compensate the developing nations who are feeling the biggest impacts of climate change but have emitted the least greenhouse gases. Embarking on a final session of the marathon talks on Wednesday night, a host of nations from all sides of the disputes voiced their entrenched positions. Many options cross our red lines, Luxembourg negotiator Carole Dieschbourg, representing the European Union, told other delegates. One of the key battle lines is what cap on global warming to enshrine in the accord, set to take effect in 2020. Many nations most vulnerable to climate change want to limit warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels. However several big polluters, such as the United States, China and India, prefer a ceiling of 2C, which would allow them to burn fossil fuels for a while longer. Barbadoss Environment Minister, Denis Lowe, representing a bloc of Caribbean nations among the most vulnerable to rising sea levels, told the late-night session 1.5C was non-negotiable. We will not sign off on an agreement that represents the certain extinction of our people, Lowe said. Many other ministers echoed their nations long-held positions. Still, most also said the draft was an acceptable blueprint to work from, and they were prepared to continue negotiating. One of the biggest potential deal-busters remains money. Rich countries promised six years ago in Copenhagen to muster $100 billion (92 billion euros) a year from 2020 to help developing nations make the costly shift to clean energy, and to cope with the impact of global warming. But how the pledged funds will be raised still remains unclearand developing countries are pushing for a promise that the amount will be ramped up in future. Meanwhile, rich nations are insisting that developing giants work harder to tackle their greenhouse gases, noting that much of the worlds emissions come from their fast-growing economies.