The climate talks in Warsaw last year set two tasks for the next round of negotiations in the city of Lima, Peru, at the end of 2014: reaching agreement on the elements of a post-2020 climate agreement; and determining the technical and legislative information required for what is known as the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), the pledges each country will make towards fighting climate change.
Exactly what INDCs will include is still debated, with some countries proposing mitigation strategies, and others (mainly developing countries) arguing that they should involve information on climate adaptation and financing.
The future direction is very likely to be one of simultaneous progress on both short- and long-term goals. Nations will need to put forward short term INDC goals, for 2025 and 2030, and in particular emission cuts. Long term goals will be a new round of discussions on carbon neutrality, and 100% use of renewable energy and elimination of coal. All the various players – nations, think-tanks, the UN bodies, international groups, NGOs – will, from their own various stances, push towards these goals. Preparation and strategies for these moves will be needed for future negotiations.
Against this background, the world and the key powers will again enter a period of intense diplomatic and political activity during the latter half of 2014. Though the US will be one of the main players, the role of the European Union should not be ignored.
July will see a new round of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue. According to the US these talks will, besides promoting cooperation in several fields by the China-US Climate Change Working Group, tackle issues which are more politically sensitive and directly relevant to climate negotiations, such as HFCs, a set of potent greenhouse gases, and INDCs.
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Climate adaptation has been praised for its potential for contributing to peace. It is highlighted for the potential to remake systems and equip the world to better cope with the impacts of climate change. However, these remain hopeful claims until rigorous research is done on how this might take place and what type of peace we might expect to result from the implementation of climate adaptation.
Responding to climate change has become more urgent than ever. Cooperation within communities is a precondition for urban resilience, as recurring heatwaves and hurricanes cannot be put down to chance any more. Lou del Bello argues that part of the response to disaster risks lies in digital communications, which will help build preparedness from the bottom up.
Almost 200 states have agreed on measures to limit global warming in Katowice, Poland, after a two-week marathon of negotiations. The state representatives participating at the Conference of the Parties (COP24) agreed on a 156-page rulebook on Saturday night, listing measures and controls to limit the global rise in average temperatures to well below two degrees Celsius.
This year’s annual UN climate conference concluded late on Saturday evening in Katowice, Poland, after two weeks of tension-filled talks.