The United Nations’ annual global climate negotiations – or Conference of the Parties (COP) 18 – took place in the City of Doha, Qatar from November 26 to December 8, 2012. As the country with the highest per capita emissions in the world at 50 tonnes per person, Qatar was an interesting choice of venue. Negotiations ran a day over schedule, but concluded with an agreement on the “Doha Climate Gateway”. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the agreement marks the beginning of discussions on a legally binding international agreement to cap emissions at scientifically acceptable levels (restricting warming to a two degree Celsius increase in global average temperature).
At COP 17 in Durban, South Africa, the parties agreed to create a treaty by 2015 which would come into force by 2020. The objectives at COP 18 were to move the collective agreement forward at an appropriate rate to meet the 2015 deadline. Following the talks, the parties agreed to the following:
1. The Kyoto Protocol was officially extended for a second commitment period from January 1, 2013 to 2020. A number of previous signatories, including Canada, have withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol, which now covers only 15% of the world’s emissions. Its primary participants are the European Union, Norway and Australia.
2. The final text of the agreement “encourages” developed nations to pay $10 billion a year to 2020 to help developing nations access clean energy and implement climate change adaptation measures. The agreement is not legally binding and does not ascribe blame to developed nations for “loss or damages” experienced as a result of events related to climate change.
Developing countries and observers expressed disappointment with the lack of ambition in outcomes in terms of mitigation and finance by developed countries, but most agreed that the conference had paved the way for a new phase of focusing on the implementation of the outcomes from negotiations under the ad hoc working groups.
An important achievement outside of COP was that 25 members of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition agreed to significantly reduce emissions of short-lived pollutants, including soot, methane and ozone, and excluding carbon dioxide. It is estimated that this agreement could reduce the expected temperature increase by 0.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, a fraction of the four to six degrees forecast by the end of the century if we stay on the current emissions path.
COP 19 will be hosted by Poland in 2013.