Commitments already made by world governments to cut carbon emissions aren’t enough to keep global warming below the crucial 2C target – but a strong deal is still possible in Paris, says economist.
The UNFCCC Secretariat has announced that the negotiating text for the anticipated 2015 climate change agreement has been translated into the six official UN languages and formally communicated to governments.
International climate negotiators meeting last week in Geneva, Switzerland, started their journey toward establishing a new international climate agreement in Paris at the end of the year. As in the early stages of the Tour de France, they focused on getting their feel for the road.
Policy-makers are often wary of the large investments and efforts a sustainable transformation of the economy requires. But it can provide significant opportunities for economic growth and new jobs, as most recently the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate has highlighted. What are the main opportunities in terms of job creation?
From Each According to His Capability...
As the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the UNFCCC closed in mid-December 2014 in Lima, Peru, some returned to their homes feeling cautiously optimistic regarding the potential for a strong, ambitious outcome at the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015.
After years of frustration and failure, a more flexible approach to reaching an international strategy on climate action is emerging – and it could finally lead to a meaningful agreement at climate talks in Paris later this year.
The issues of human security and conflict in relation to climate change have evolved to a place where they now constitute a recognized and important component in the climate change conversation, and are being addressed in a diverse range of fora through meetings, reports and changes in policy.
Representatives of 190 countries agreed the Lima Call for Climate Action early on Sunday morning, recommitting countries to preventing temperatures rising by more than two degrees above pre-industrial levels.
Despite international acknowledgement that women are disproportionately affected by climate change, the Lima climate negotiations have been slow to deliver progress on recognising their importance, while threats of pushback loom on the horizon.
Despite the recent China-US climate pledge some hard choices and compromises will be needed before a wide-ranging deal can be agreed at the UN summit in Paris in 2015.