COP20—Lima Local weather Convention — International Points

By online

January 11, 2025

0

1

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

This web page: https://www.globalissues.org/article/805/cop20-lima-climate-conference.
To print all info (e.g. expanded facet notes, exhibits various hyperlinks), use the print model:

On this web page:

Introduction
Assembly final result
Mainstream media reporting
In context: widespread however differentiated obligations
Extra info
Information tales from IPS

Introduction

December 1 – 14, 2014, Lima, Peru was the venue for the twentieth annual United Nations Local weather Change Convention, also referred to 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.

Again to high

Assembly final result

The assembly ended with all nations agreeing to chop again greenhouse gasoline emissions. Often known as the Lima Accord, this treaty is just not legally binding and international locations wouldn’t have to specify how a lot they may reduce, as a substitute agreeing to report their plans again by March 2015.

Whereas for a lot of it gave the impression of a profitable final result, others have been disillusioned, reminiscent of 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 features of the assembly final 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 gasoline 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, Ultimately, a worldwide local weather treaty is only one device to fight local weather change. Actual change goes to proceed to return 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 monumental efforts to verify Paris [the next global meeting] received’t be like Copenhagen which was stuffed with disappointments regardless of massive guarantees.

Samantha Smith, Chief of WWF’s International Local weather and Power Initiative, was fairly scathing of the assembly final 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’.

Again to high

Mainstream media reporting

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

Whereas the treaty continued to say it honors the long-standing widespread however differentiated obligations the mainstream media reporting (as in most years) has sometimes failed to offer rationalization and context of this precept that has been an essential a part of these talks for over 2 a long time; that poor and creating international locations shouldn’t bear the identical obligations because the developed ones (as a result of they don’t seem to be the reason for the anthropogenic carbon emissions over the earlier a long time which have led to this, which is detailed rather more on this web site’s web page on local weather justice).

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

That was simply one of many points skirted over or omitted from widespread reporting. Others included points on financing, know-how assist for poorer nations, and so forth. Behind the scenes, for many years, wealthy international locations have stalled on this stuff or actively averted attempting to share know-how and so forth, which is barely reported.

Yearly, this criticism is made from mainstream reporting, so with out following these negotiations annually, it may be simple to return away with the impression that this assembly had a constructive final result.

However as this dialogue hosted by Democracy Now! exhibits, there have been a lot of essential problems with rivalry:

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

Again to high

In context: widespread 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 principle greenhouse gasoline — 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 widespread 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 challenge (and lots of others) means every time it’s mentioned once more the reactions appear to get much more hostile. Mixed with the dearth of detailed context within the mainstream media protection of this side, it then turns into simpler every time to see culprits as China and India given their monumental greenhouse emissions lately, in comparison with the far higher quantity by the industrialized nations over the longer interval. See this web site’s part on local weather justice for extra detailed background.

And as this web site has mentioned 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 creating 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 a motion that’s going to occur between now and 2020. All of that was to be carried out by the developed international locations. They [rich nations] mainly have simply mentioned at Lima that we aren’t going to do any greater than what we’re doing to this point, and the burden can shift onto the post-2020 period, the place different creating international locations need to share it. So, to me, it signifies actually negotiation in dangerous religion.

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

Again to high