“Our aim can be nothing less than a steady transformation of the global economy”, Kerry said.
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“We are progressing well”.
Ministers from more than 190 countries are trying to craft the first climate accord asking all nations to reduce or slow their emissions.
Africa is being hit hard by the consequences of global warming, yet it is responsible for only 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S., a signatory to that agreement, never ratified the protocol and was not bound by its requirements.
One unresolved question for the deal is its long-term goal for fossil fuels – oil, coal and gas – that are the source of most man-made emissions and provide most of the world’s energy today.
Poor countries have asked for the amount to be raised, but rich nations have been unwilling to agree to a binding increase, and instead want mechanisms that would broaden the donor base in the future to China and other countries, which they say can afford it.
Previous drafts included stronger options with more specific timeframes. That was deleted from the latest draft.
Developing countries are already bearing the brunt of carbon intensive growth strategies.
The climate deal is expected to set out measures necessary to prevent global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius, down from the initial 2-degree target.
EU Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete told reporters Thursday “without the five-year cycles, the agreement is meaningless”.
However Fabius has said he is determined for the Paris talks to end on Friday. In Sudan, where urbanization is quickly increasing, how the country responds to rural citizens competing for urban space will impact how it manages other environmental challenges. “Some are not ready to do that yet”.
However, observers say the United States and European Union are pushing to add language that rules out both establishing liability for losses and potentially paying compensation. But countries remain at odds on critical issues.
Kerry was holding talks at the Le Bourget conference site with the environment ministers of Brazil and India, according to the U.S. State Department.
Steiner said he thinks the final issue will be differentiation between rich and poor nations, calling it “one of the defining principles of where the convention began its journey”. The U.S. and Europe seek a deal that applies more equally to all nations.
Liz Gallagher, Climate Diplomacy Programme Leader at consultancy E3G, said: “It is not just about those plans, but the integrity of them and being able to verify them and report on them”.
Saudi negotiator Khalid Abuleif said scientists did not have “robust information and the support of science to act practically and meet such criteria”. “It is the historical responsibility which can not be wished away”. “We are more victims… than culprits in that”, said Jose Ramos-Horta, former president of Timor-Leste and in Paris negotiating with the least-developed countries bloc. “That’s not rhetoric. It’s just physically impossible to do so”. In the Pacific, there is a country that is buying another country to move to because in 20 years it will cease to exist. It will help fund domestic weather services and tracking systems to better assist poorer nations in forecasting and coping with extreme weather.
So far, 186 nations have laid out national plans for combating climate change until 2025 or 2030 as building blocks for a Paris accord, but many disagree over when and how they should be reviewed and updated.
“In Kyoto, we only covered 12 percent of global emissions”.
“In southern Norway and in the United Kingdom, we have had unprecedented floods the last weekend; many people have been evacuated from their homes”.
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He and Javadekar didn’t elaborate on differences in their positions.
