From Dec. 7 to 19th 2009, the much anticipated United Nations fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. Concurrently, the fifth Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 5) and Kyoto Protocol ad hoc working groups met in Copenhagen. The goal of the conference was to conclude a fair, ambitious and binding post-2012 international agreement on climate change, including agreement on (i) mid-term emission reductions by developed countries; (ii) clarity on mitigation actions by developed countries; (iii) short- and long-term finance; and (iv) governing structures as laid out in the under the Bali Road Map, which was launched by COP 13 in December 2007.
The outcome was the Copenhagen Accord, a non-binding political statement which acknowledges that “climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time” and emphasizes the parties’ “strong political will to urgently combat climate change”.
Key elements of the Copenhagen Accord include:
– a goal of limiting global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius;
– a process for countries to enter their specific mitigation pledges by January 31, 2010;
– action and cooperation on adaptation, with urgent attention given to the least developed countries, small island developing states and Africa;
– broad terms for the reporting and verification of developing country actions;
– an explicit acknowledgment to act on deforestation and forest degradation;
– establishment of four new bodies: (i) a mechanism to support reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD); (ii) a high level panel to study the implementation of financing provisions; (iii) the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund to support the mitigation and adaptation efforts of developing countries as well as capacity building and technology transfer; and (iv) a technology mechanism to accelerate technology development and transfer;
– a commitment by developed countries to provide $30 billion in “new and additional” funding in the period 2010-2012 to help developing countries reduce emissions, preserve forests, and adapt to climate change; and
– a commitment by developed countries to mobilize $100 billion a year in public and private finance by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries.
By 2015, the Copenhagen Accord calls for an assessment of the implementation of the accord, including strengthening of the long-term target.
The Copenhagen Accord was brokered by President Obama and a handful of key developing countries including China, India, Brazil and South Africa. The terms of the Copenhagen Accord were negotiated on the final day of the conference, topping off two weeks of high rhetoric and bitter procedural fights. It then took another day of tense negotiations to arrive at a procedural compromise that would allow the formalization of the accord over the objections of several governments who complained about an “untransparent and “undemocratic” negotiation process.
At the end of COP 15, the parties adopted parallel decisions under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol that “take note” of the accord and open the way for governments to individually sign on. In separate decisions, parties extended the mandate of the ad hoc working groups under both the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol to continue negotiations toward a more comprehensive agreement in Mexico City at the next COP. This unprecedented outcome leaves uncertainty about the formal standing of the Copenhagen Accord under the United Nations climate process and about the nature of any future agreement. The aim of a “legally binding instrument,” which appeared part of the deal when President Obama first announced it, was later taken out.
The text of the Copenhagen Accord can be found in the link section on the right.