French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius planned to work late into the night with negotiators from 195 countries, hoping to reach agreement on key differences that remain, including questions of ambition, financing and differentiation between the obligations of developed and developing nations.
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Canete said Chinese negotiators are opposed to making five-yearly updates a requirement in the agreement even though they agreed to such reviews before the Paris talks.
Participants at COP21 – as the United Nations conference is called – have been working on a draft text, prepared by the French presidency, since Wednesday.
Marathon overnight talks which lasted as late as 7am this morning have produced a 27-page document – two pages shorter than the text produced yesterday (9 December) – which contains just 50 brackets, down from 361.
Nations most vulnerable to climate change had lobbied hard to limit warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-Industrial Revolution levels. “That’s why we must have a big political moment in 2018 where countries will be brought back to the table and forced to ramp up their climate action”.
But talking about compensation and liability was a negotiating tactic by the developed countries, Christian Aid’s Mohammed Avow said.
Diplomats from 196 governments are trying to forge a global pact in Paris to slow global warming by collectively slashing emissions.
A new draft of the agreement released Thursday evening shows new consensus on a long-term cap on temperature rise and a system for countries to revise and improve efforts to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The EU revealed earlier this week that it was part of the ‘high-ambition coalition’ of over 100 countries including the United States, Mexico and who are said to be pushing for the most extensive deal. All countries must re-examine their individual climate pledges in 2020, and then every five years after.
China has strong objections on differentiation as it thinks the second text that came on Thursday night was an attempt to dilute this provision.
“We are nearly at the end of the road”, Fabius said.
It would also see countries aiming to peak climate change-causing emissions as soon as possible, and “undertake rapid reductions thereafter towards reaching greenhouse gas emissions neutrality in the second half of the century”.
President Xi Jinping has already promised that carbon dioxide emissions from China’s rapidly developing economy will start falling from around 2030, and does not want to revisit the target.
Vague language on the Green Carbon Fund: There is not much clarity about where funding sources will come from, and how the GCF will be scaled up after 2020. Many scientists say this level is required to avoid grievous disruptions in the climate.
After the final draft of the climate deal will be released, the delegations will be given time to consider it and make the final decision on the agreement’s adoption by Saturday afternoon, he added. The Paris conference is the 21st time…
Another remaining flashpoint issue is how to compensate developing nations that will be worst hit by climate change but are least to blame for it. “Getting them to agree on the future of the planet and a deal on climate change is probably one of the toughest pieces of negotiation they’ll ever get involved in”.
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The biggest challenge is to define the responsibilities of wealthy nations, which have polluted the most historically, and developing economies including China and India where emissions are growing the fastest.
