Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 13 • Number 40 • 18th November 2009

Leaders Announce Delay in Legally Binding Climate Deal

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Twenty-one heads of state meeting at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit declared on Sunday that a binding treaty at next month’s climate change summit in Copenhagen would not be feasible. Instead, the leaders agreed to back a political deal proposed by Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen, who flew to Singapore to discuss the status of climate change talks with the group.

In essence, the group’s position, which was later backed by the European Union, encompasses a two-step approach that includes both a strong, action-based political agreement and the promise of a comprehensive pact in the near future.

“Even if we may not hammer out the last dots of a legally binding instrument, I do believe a political binding agreement with specific commitment to mitigation and finance provides a strong basis for immediate action in the years to come,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen proposed the new game plan to reach a binding agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which would include a 5-8 page document with “precise language of a comprehensive political agreement,” followed by continued negotiations to be concluded preferably before the next Conference of the Parties set for December 2010 in Mexico City.

Many developing countries and climate advocates argue that the shift in goals is an attempt to save face in light of the improbability of a robust agreement to address climate change in Copenhagen, as was initially intended.

European officials said they were not surprised with the announcement, but pushed for governments to make concrete progress at the summit, and not to treat it simply as a delay.

“We shouldn’t set the bar too low,” said Christoph Steegmans, German deputy government spokesman. “Copenhagen must become an important milestone on the way to a decisive accord next year. Nobody can shirk their responsibility.”

On the heels of the APEC meeting, and perhaps to assure concerned observers that the global process was not on the brink of failure, US President Barack Obama, speaking in Beijing on Tuesday, gave his most significant pledge to work towards a comprehensive agreement on climate change, despite the delay. He proposed a new pact that would require rigid targets on mid-term emissions from developed countries, “pledges” from emerging economies to curb their emissions growth, finance to support mitigation in developing countries broadly, and a set of institutions to ensure that such promises are kept.

“Our aim…is not a partial accord or a political declaration but rather an accord that covers all of the issues in the negotiations and one that has immediate operational effect,” he said.

Obama has been reluctant to speak forcefully on climate change commitments, largely due to the fact that the US Senate has yet to pass climate legislation and is not expected to debate its current draft bill before next year.

ICTSD Reporting; “APEC Concedes Copenhagen Climate Treaty Out of Reach,” BLOOMBERG, 16 November 2009; “Obama damps hopes for final treaty on climate change at Copenhagen,” FINANCIAL TIMES, 16 November 2009; “Obama renews climate pledge,” FINANCIAL TIMES, 17 November 2009; “Denmark seeks specific pledges at climate talks,” AP, 17 November 2009.