Tim
Groser is one of New Zealand's top criminals.
After COP-15 in 2009 he lashed out at the Pacific nations for 'getting in the way' of the rich nations agreeing to do nothing
After COP-15 in 2009 he lashed out at the Pacific nations for 'getting in the way' of the rich nations agreeing to do nothing
Meanwhile,
the Guardian is hailing the 'agreement'
Minister Groser defends UN climate deal
Environmental groups have criticised the climate deal reached at a marathon conference in Peru as an ineffectual compromise, but New Zealand Climate Change Minister Tim Groser said there had been positive developments.
15
December, 2014
Smoke
from factory chimneys in Beijing, China. The draft agreement appeased
emerging economies, led by China and India. - Photo: AFP
About
190 nations agreed
the building blocks of a new-style global deal due
in 2015 to combat climate change.
The
draft text promises poorer countries more funds to tackle the effects
of rising temperatures, while richer countries are assured a new
framework to monitor all pledges to cut emissions.
The
compromise deal defers many critical decisions until talks next year
in Paris.
Some
environmental groups said the agreement, reached two days into
overtime after a fortnight of talks came close to collapsing, was far
too weak.
But
Mr Groser told Morning Report there was at least an
agreement to take to more crucial talks in Paris, and there had been
movement by China which accepted it should work to reduce greenhouse
emissions.
Listen
to Tim Groser on Morning Report ( 8 min 15 esc )
Friends
of the Earth campaigner Asad Rehman said it was unacceptable that
many criticial decisions were put off until next year.
"What
we saw was rich industrialised countries pretty much bullying poorer
countries into accepting an outcome which will be quite catastrophic
for many of their citizens.
"Whilst
there is a political agreement, the planet and the people don't
really care about a statement in itself - what's really needed is
concrete actions."
Samantha
Smith of the WWF conservation group said the successive drafts at the
Lima talks "went from weak to weaker to weakest."
The draft
agreement appeased
emerging economies, led by China and India, concerned that previous
drafts imposed too heavy a burden on emerging economies compared to
the rich.
"We've
got what we wanted," said Indian Environment Minister Prakash
Javedekar, who said the text preserved a notion enshrined in a 1992
climate convention that the rich have to lead the way in making cuts
in greenhouse gas emissions.
It
also satisfied rich nations led by the United States who say it is
time for fast-growing emerging economies to rein in fast-rising
emissions. China is now the biggest greenhouse gas emitter ahead of
the United States, the EU and India.
Activists
demonstrate on the sidelines of the UN climate change conferences in
Lima
Fielding:
“You would have us do nothing?”
Godbar:
“Nothing you can do would make any difference”
EM
Forster, Passage to India
Lima
climate change talks reach global warming agreement
Deal
would for first time commit all countries – including developing
nations – to cutting emissions
14
December, 2014
International
negotiators at the Lima climate change talks have agreed on a plan to
fight global warming that would for the first time commit all
countries to cutting their greenhouse gas emissions.
The
plan, agreed at United Nations talks on Sunday, was hailed as an
important first step towards a climate change deal due to be
finalised in Paris next year. The proposals call on countries to
reveal how they will cut carbon pollution, ideally by March next
year.
“As
a text it’s not perfect, but it includes the positions of the
parties,” said Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, the Peruvian environment
minister, who presided over the talks.
However,
negotiators acknowledged they had put off the most difficult
decisions for later.
And
with 2014 on course to be the hottest year on record, campaigners
warned the plan was far too weak to limit warming to the
internationally agreed limit of 2C above pre-industrial levels, or to
protect poor countries from climate change.
“It’s
definitely watered down from what we expected,” said Alden Meyer of
the Union of Concerned Scientists.
They
also warned negotiators had left too many contentious issues
unresolved before the deadline for reaching a deal in Paris. “The
countdown clock to Paris is now ticking. Countries had the chance to
give themselves a head start on the road to Paris but instead have
missed the gun and now need to play catch up,” said Mohammed Adow,
Christian Aid’s senior climate change advisor.
But
after a difficult negotiation – which over-ran by two days–
officials said they were satisfied with the outcome.
“It
was contentious along the way but it fundamentally accomplished what
we wanted it to,” Todd Stern, the US State Department’s climate
change envoy, said.
The
five-page text agreed on Sunday – now officially known as the Lima
Call for Climate Action – represents the embryonic phase of the
deal due to be delivered in Paris.
As
sketched out in Lima, all countries, rising economies as well as rich
countries would pledge action on climate change.
Wealthy
countries would help developing countries fight climate change, by
investing in clean energy technology or offering climate aid.
Countries
already threatened by climate change – such as small island states
which face being swallowed up by rising seas – were promised a
“loss and damage” programme of financial aid.
The
all-inclusive nature of the emissions cuts constitutes a break with
one of the defining principles of the last 20 years of climate talks
– that wealthy countries should carry the burden of cutting carbon
dioxide emissions.
“I
think for the first time ever the world can contemplate a global deal
applicable to all and Lima has helped that process,” the UK’s
energy and climate change secretary, Ed Davey, said.
If all goes well, China, whose emissions have overtaken the US, will as part of the agreement formally pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, as will India, Brazil and other rising economies.
But
much remains uncertain about the prospects of a strong deal emerging
from Paris – not least because of the problems that arose during
the negotiations in Lima.
The
Lima negotiations had opened on 1 December amid a spirit of optimism
following an agreement last month between the US and China to cut
carbon pollution.
But
it soon became apparent that the US-China deal on its own would have
no effect on bridging the perennial dividing line of climate
negotiations – the responsibility for cutting greenhouse gas
emissions.
The
talks over-ran by two days because of clashes over which countries
should carry the burden of fighting climate change.
There
were also disputes over climate finance. Wealthy countries were
accused of failing to live up to their earlier promises of mobilising
billions to help developing countries fight climate change.
But
after a day of brinkmanship on Saturday – with Stern warning of a
“major breakdown” - the deal was one.
“We
got what we wanted,” Prakash Javadekar, India’s environment
minister, said.
But
much now remains to be done if the broad outlines agreed at Lima are
to materialise in a full-fledged climate deal.
The
US, China, and the European Union have already come forward with
pledges for cutting greenhouse gas emissions after 2020.
Under
the plan, countries are due to come forward by March 2015 with their
proposed emissions reductions targets.
The
United Nations would then weigh up those pledges and determine
whether the collective action was enough to limit warming to 2C.
But
much remains vague or poorly defined. The countries put off decisions
about the legal structure of the agreement, and deferred decisions
about ensuring a flow of finance to developing countries.
The
biggest issue left unresolved for Paris is the burden for cutting
greenhouse gas emissions. The draft text retains language of “common
but differentiated responsibilities” that has over the years given
developing countries a pass on cutting emissions. That language
remains in the text although with a rider “in light of different
national circumstances”. Stern acknowledged to reporters the issue
was likely to come up again at Paris.
And
the text adopted on Sunday no longer makes it mandatory for countries
to provide detailed information about their prospect reductions
targets.
Campaigners
said that would make it increasingly difficult to be sure the deal
would manage to keep warming within the 2 degree threshold.
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