Negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) entered the final stretch today, as representatives from all over the world looked to resolve disagreements and transform a 48-page draft document into a binding long-term global agreement.
According to BBC News reports, it has taken delegates four years to produce a draft version of the document that—in its current form—is 48 pages long and contains well over 900 separate areas of disagreement. They have just five days to get those issues resolved and finalize a deal that all 195 parties in attendance can agree upon, but there is hope that it will get done.
One issue that needs to be ironed out is what limit should be set on warming. Some countries favor establishing a threshold limiting warming to 2.0 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels, while some island nations prefer a 1.5 degree cap, citing fears that warmer temperatures could lead to rising sea levels that threaten their cities, BBC News said.
Furthermore, some countries want the agreement to include a commitment to complete phase out the use of coal and other fossil fuels by the middle of the century, while others consider that to be an unrealistic goal, according to Reuters. In addition, the most vulnerable nations are apparently seeking assurances that wealthier nations responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions over the years will cover the costs for future damage caused by sea-level increases.
Which countries should foot the bill?
The issue of differentiation, the distinction between rich and poor nations, will also be front and center over the next several days. Differentiation, Reuters explained, is crucial when it comes to determining how the agreement will be financed. In 1992, when the UN climate convention was originally signed, the world was divided into developed and developing countries.
During the Paris conference, some of the wealthier nations wanted those designations to be redone to reflect changes to the world over the past two decades, according to the BBC. Michael Jacobs, a climate adviser to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during the Copenhagen talks, said that such a “binary division” between countries “cannot be in an agreement that is signed.”
Malaysia’s Gurdial Singh Nijar, speaking on behalf of a group of countries that included China, India, and Saudi Arabia, railed against suggestions that such changes should be made. “Yes, the world has changed but not in the way that you intend to use it… as a subterfuge to undermine the basic precepts of the convention,” Nijar said. Doing so would “destroy our societies,” he added. “We cannot accept starvation as a price for the success of this agreement.”
Despite the differences, BBC News said that there is widespread feeling amongst those at the conference that a deal will indeed get done. However, as the World Resources Institute’s Jennifer Morgan told Reuters, “Nothing has been solved”—at least, not yet, anyway.
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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