Key Issues

The 15th Conference of Parties (COP-15) to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 7 to 18, 2009.

http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_15/conference_programme/items/5071.php

The ambition for COP-15 was to get agreement on a legally binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol. The commitments taken under the Kyoto Protocol expire at the end of 2012.

It seems very unlikely that such a legally binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol can be agreed at COP-15.

However, it is anticipated that a political framework will be established, including targets, timetables and financing, the details of which will be finalized during 2010. The key issues are

• Coverage
  • The Kyoto Protocol provides legally binding commitments for the developed world. In view of the rapid global increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases, many developed countries believe that to stabilize atmospheric concentrations emerging economies must also take on commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Such actions could also help to reduce competitiveness issues and, thereby avoid “carbon leakage”, where companies in developed countries re-locate production into developing countries as a result of carbon controls increasing the costs of operations.
  • There are various proposals to extend the number of gases included in the agreement. These are mainly additional industrial gases produced in limited quantities.
  • There is also discussion on if and how to include aviation and marine bunker fuels.
  • Equally, there are wide ranging views on how to address Land Use Change, Deforestation and Degradation of Forests.
• Finance
  • Developing Countries are expecting substantial funding that will assist them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to deal with the impacts of Climate Change
  • There is no agreement on the size of the funds required, the balance between public and private financing, who should be paying and on what basis.
  • There may be some differentiation between emerging economies and lesser developed countries
• Emission Reduction Targets
  • There are wide ranging proposals on targets and timelines. There seems to be a consensus that there should be a legally binding medium-term target for the year 2020, but there is also support for non-binding long-term targets up to 2050.
  • Much depends on the target concentration of CO₂, by far the most important Greenhouse Gas. The European Union and many developing countries support limiting the greenhouse gases concentrations so that the temperature rise does not exceed 2°C, but there is less agreement if that means 350ppm, 400 ppm 450 ppm or yet another target.
  • There is considerable disagreement on how the targets should be expressed – for example a per capita budget (2000 kg CO₂/person/year has been suggested), or a percentage vs the Kyoto baseline of 1990 or another baseline, e.g. per unit of GDP.
  • There are also proposals for “rapid near term action”, which call for a phase-down of, for example, HFCs or Carbon-Black  
• Penalties & Enforcement
  • There is considerable debate on instruments to ensure compliance with any measures agreed. Border tax adjustments have been suggested by several countries.
• Technology and Technology Transfer
  • Developing countries are demanding preferential access to environmentally sound technologies through government-led technology transfer. They have suggested that such technologies should be made available through compulsory licensing or through invalidating the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) system.

LINKS

• European Commission Press Release: “Copenhagen conference must produce global, ambitious and comprehensive agreement to avert dangerous climate change
• The Copenhagen climate conference: key EU Objectives
• ”Presentation : UNFCCC – Negotiating Texts as of Barcelona « Rough guide for business”, by N. Campbell and N. Kennedy
• UNFCCC official page for COP 15  
• European Parliament resolution on the EU Strategy for the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (COP 15)
• The White House: Combating Climate Change at Home and Around the World
• General information on EU post 2012 actions