COP20—Lima Local weather Convention — International Points

by Anup Shah
This web page Created Saturday, January 24, 2015

This web page: https://www.globalissues.org/article/805/cop20-lima-climate-conference.
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On this web page:

Introduction
Assembly end result
Mainstream media reporting
In context: frequent however differentiated obligations
Extra data
Information tales from IPS

Introduction

December 1 – 14, 2014, Lima, Peru was the venue for the twentieth annual United Nations Local weather Change Convention, often known as the twentieth Convention of the Events — or COP 20.

The aim of this convention was to create a common settlement on local weather change motion and start the method of financing mitigation.

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Assembly end result

The assembly ended with all nations agreeing to chop again greenhouse fuel emissions. Referred to as the Lima Accord, this treaty isn’t legally binding and international locations don’t have to specify how a lot they may reduce, as an alternative agreeing to report their plans again by March 2015.

Whereas for a lot of it seemed like a profitable end result, others have been disenchanted, similar to poor international locations struggling to rebuild from present impacts of local weather change who have been alarmed on the disappearance of loss and harm commitments from the ultimate textual content which has been a part of the dialogue for years.

The worldwide local weather motion, 350.org, summarized the disappointments and hopeful elements of the assembly end result, noting

The brand new settlement doesn’t replicate the urgency of the local weather disaster
Some good agreements – however no measures to make sure implementation
Least developed and susceptible nations disregarded within the chilly
Divestment (from fossil gas reliance) is extra essential than ever
International momentum for actual options is stronger than ever and can carry on going.

In attempting to place a constructive spin on the general disappointment they felt, they concluded, In the long run, a worldwide local weather treaty is only one software to fight local weather change. Actual change goes to proceed to come back from the grassroots. The UN Local weather Talks proceed to be a spot the place the world’s international locations comes collectively to debate this disaster and persons are placing in huge efforts to verify Paris [the next global meeting] received’t be like Copenhagen which was filled with disappointments regardless of huge guarantees.

Samantha Smith, Chief of WWF’s International Local weather and Vitality Initiative, was fairly scathing of the assembly end result saying that political expediency received over scientific urgency. She additionally famous that Developed nation governments couldn’t even handle to elucidate how they may ship the long-promised US$100 billion per 12 months in local weather finance by 2020. In a transfer that seemingly dismissed the plight of probably the most susceptible international locations, they fully eliminated any significant language about ‘loss and harm’.

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Mainstream media reporting

As with nearly each earlier assembly (with occasional exceptions), mainstream media reporting was very poor given the significance of this world difficulty. The place the assembly was reported it was typically in the direction of the top, and simply sound chunk sort summaries saying all international locations agreed to emission cuts and that this was a serious enchancment.

Whereas the treaty continued to say it honors the long-standing frequent however differentiated obligations the mainstream media reporting (as in most years) has usually failed to supply rationalization and context of this precept that has been an essential a part of these talks for over 2 many years; that poor and growing international locations mustn’t bear the identical obligations because the developed ones (as a result of they aren’t the reason for the anthropogenic carbon emissions over the earlier many years which have led to this, which is detailed way more on this website’s web page on local weather justice).

A touch in the direction of this precept could have been introduced as a viewpoint of China or India, given the impression they’re being obstacles, slightly then explaining this precept in additional context.

That was simply one of many points skirted over or omitted from frequent reporting. Others included points on financing, expertise assist for poorer nations, and so on. Behind the scenes, for many years, wealthy international locations have stalled on these items or actively prevented attempting to share expertise and so on, which is barely reported.

Yearly, this criticism is product of mainstream reporting, so with out following these negotiations annually, it may be straightforward to come back away with the impression that this assembly had a constructive end result.

However as this dialogue hosted by Democracy Now! reveals, there have been numerous essential problems with rivalry:

Emissions-Reducing Deal Reached at COP 20 Lima, However Will It Assist Forestall Catastrophic Local weather Change?, Democracy Now!, December 15, 2014.

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In context: frequent however differentiated obligations

A few years in the past all nations agreed that local weather change was largely the results of actions from immediately’s industrialized nations, as carbon dioxide — the primary greenhouse fuel — stays within the ambiance for many years. But, the poorest would find yourself struggling probably the most for an issue they largely didn’t trigger. The approaches to mitigation (emissions discount) would subsequently be totally different for these teams of nations — the frequent however differentiated obligations precept.

It’s on this context that the dialogue for loss and harm has come about. And it’s one thing that wealthy international locations are eager to do away with .

The years of resistance on this difficulty (and plenty of others) means every time it’s mentioned once more the reactions appear to get much more hostile. Mixed with the shortage of detailed context within the mainstream media protection of this facet, it then turns into simpler every time to see culprits as China and India given their huge greenhouse emissions lately, in comparison with the far better quantity by the industrialized nations over the longer interval. See this website’s part on local weather justice for extra detailed background.

And as this website has stated for years on the local weather justice web page, the wealthy nations are delaying any significant motion till it’s finally — and disproportionately — paid for the by the growing nations. New Delhi based mostly Nitin Sethi, affiliate editor at Enterprise Normal, interviewed within the earlier talked about video says the identical factor, however extra frankly:

There isn’t any motion that’s going to occur between now and 2020. All of that was to be completed by the developed international locations. They [rich nations] mainly have simply stated at Lima that we aren’t going to do any greater than what we’re doing to date, and the burden can shift onto the post-2020 period, the place different growing international locations need to share it. So, to me, it signifies actually negotiation in unhealthy religion.

Nitin Sethi, Emissions-Reducing Deal Reached at COP 20 Lima, However Will It Assist Forestall Catastrophic Local weather Change?, Democracy Now!, December 15, 2014

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