EU: The Only Deal Available in Copenhagen

While the head of China’s climate delegation thought “everyone should be happy”, it was uncertain late Friday night whether the “Copenhagen Accord” agreed by the US, China, South Africa and India would win broader support among countries.

Photo courtesy: Copenhagen Climate Change Conference

(COPENHAGEN) - After a ”Copenhagen Accord” was agreed by the US, China, South Africa and India in Copenhagen, it was still unclear by Friday midnight which other countries were willing to support and sign it.

US President Barack Obama said the deal would be a foundation for global action but there was "much further to go". The head of China’s climate delegation Xie Zhenhua thought “everyone should be happy”, according to Reuters.

An EU spokesperson told BBC News: “What could be agreed today, falls far below our expectations but it keeps our goals and ambitions alive…It was the only deal available in Copenhagen.”

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, said it was still to be seen how the text would be received by the broader group of countries.

“It's great that a small group of leaders gets together and tries to advance the process. But ultimately the way things work here it has to be acceptable to every country," Yvo de Boer said and continued according to Reuters:

"If this makes it through the meeting in a couple of hours' time then I see it as a modest success. We could have achieved more."

Brazil’s Climate Change Ambassador Sergio Serra called the accord “very disappointing” but not “a failure”.

Greenpeace criticized the accord for not having “targets for carbon cuts and no agreement on a legally binding treaty”. Oxfam International called the deal “a triumph of spin over substance. It recognizes the need to keep warming below two degrees but does not commit to do so. It kicks back the decisions on emissions cuts and fudges the issue of climate cash.”

The so-called Copenhagen Accord confirms the continuation of the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It sets a maximum of two degrees Celsius average global temperature rise, and states that a review by 2016 should consider if it will be necessary to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

On financing, the Copenhagen Accord says developed countries commit collectively to providing 30 billion US dollars in new, additional funding for developing countries for the 2010-2012 period. It also says developed countries support “a goal of mobilizing jointly 100 billion dollars a year” by 2020 from a variety of forces.

Developed countries commit to at least 80 percent emissions reductions by 2050 in the accord. Commitments on shorter terms have to be settled later.

Supported national mitigation actions will be subject to international measurement, reporting and verification, the accord states. Mitigations actions taken by developed countries will be monitored nationally and reported every second year by guidelines adopted later by the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Source: Copenhagen Climate Change Conference