Barcelona: Last stop before Copenhagen negotiations
Monday, 19 October 2009 15:22 | 
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It seems almost certain that not every single aspect of the proposed new global climate deal will be agreed in Copenhagen at the end of the year, as negotiations in Bangkok ended with several loose ends left to tie up. The EU has now consequently cooled talk of scaling up its climate commitments to a 30% reduction in GHGs (greenhouse gases) by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, preferring to wait until it properly assesses other countries’ climate change commitments.
The chief European Commission climate negotiator, Artur Runge-Metzger, explained the scope of the challenge saying that ‘Bangkok is still miles away from Copenhagen’ and that ‘you’ll never make a deal before the last night in Copenhagen’. This view is based on the fact that rich countries failed to make any formal, strong commitments to cut emissions during the negotiations, whilst also failing to clarify how much funding and how many resources they would be prepared to commit to adaptation and mitigation efforts in developing countries.
On a more positive note, progress was made in so far as streamlining the overall draft agreement to a more manageable size, whilst technology transfer and adaptation were debated during the course of the summit. Here too, though, there are several obstacles to overcome, with a clear definition of ‘most vulnerable countries’ and agreement over the sum for the overall financing needs of developing countries, still to be decided.
Part of the reason more progress wasn’t made is that the latest round of talks were overshadowed by bickering over legal technicalities, with poorer countries accusing the EU of ‘killing Kyoto’ by demanding a single agreement. The Kyoto Protocol stated that only developed economies would be faced with legal obligations to conform, however the EU is appealing for these obligations to be made universal.
Another reason for the slow progress in Bangkok, has been the US’s reluctance to make any comprehensive and ambitious commitments. The US has been considerably less ambitious than the EU, committing to reducing GHGs by 20% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels, which has led to a rethink in the EU hierarchy, with several Member States now opposed to pushing the targets higher.
From an EU perspective attention now turns to the crucial environment Ministers meeting on 21 October, whose focus will be on finalising the EU’s position for the COP-15, before the European Council summit takes place at the end of October (29-30). This precedes another meeting of UN negotiators in Barcelona at the beginning of November, which is likely to be the last opportunity to make progress on the climate deal before UN summit in December.
The chief European Commission climate negotiator, Artur Runge-Metzger, explained the scope of the challenge saying that ‘Bangkok is still miles away from Copenhagen’ and that ‘you’ll never make a deal before the last night in Copenhagen’. This view is based on the fact that rich countries failed to make any formal, strong commitments to cut emissions during the negotiations, whilst also failing to clarify how much funding and how many resources they would be prepared to commit to adaptation and mitigation efforts in developing countries.
On a more positive note, progress was made in so far as streamlining the overall draft agreement to a more manageable size, whilst technology transfer and adaptation were debated during the course of the summit. Here too, though, there are several obstacles to overcome, with a clear definition of ‘most vulnerable countries’ and agreement over the sum for the overall financing needs of developing countries, still to be decided.
Part of the reason more progress wasn’t made is that the latest round of talks were overshadowed by bickering over legal technicalities, with poorer countries accusing the EU of ‘killing Kyoto’ by demanding a single agreement. The Kyoto Protocol stated that only developed economies would be faced with legal obligations to conform, however the EU is appealing for these obligations to be made universal.
Another reason for the slow progress in Bangkok, has been the US’s reluctance to make any comprehensive and ambitious commitments. The US has been considerably less ambitious than the EU, committing to reducing GHGs by 20% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels, which has led to a rethink in the EU hierarchy, with several Member States now opposed to pushing the targets higher.
From an EU perspective attention now turns to the crucial environment Ministers meeting on 21 October, whose focus will be on finalising the EU’s position for the COP-15, before the European Council summit takes place at the end of October (29-30). This precedes another meeting of UN negotiators in Barcelona at the beginning of November, which is likely to be the last opportunity to make progress on the climate deal before UN summit in December.
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