COP20—Lima Local weather Convention — International Points

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January 5, 2025

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by Anup Shah
This web page Created Saturday, January 24, 2015

This web page: https://www.globalissues.org/article/805/cop20-lima-climate-conference.
To print all info (e.g. expanded aspect notes, reveals different hyperlinks), use the print model:

On this web page:

Introduction
Assembly consequence
Mainstream media reporting
In context: widespread however differentiated tasks
Extra info
Information tales from IPS

Introduction

December 1 – 14, 2014, Lima, Peru was the venue for the twentieth annual United Nations Local weather Change Convention, often known as the twentieth Convention of the Events — or COP 20.

The aim of this convention was to create a common settlement on local weather change motion and start the method of financing mitigation.

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Assembly consequence

The assembly ended with all nations agreeing to chop again greenhouse fuel emissions. Often called the Lima Accord, this treaty isn’t legally binding and nations wouldn’t have to specify how a lot they may reduce, as an alternative agreeing to report their plans again by March 2015.

Whereas for a lot of it gave the impression of a profitable consequence, others had been disillusioned, resembling poor nations struggling to rebuild from present impacts of local weather change who had been alarmed on the disappearance of loss and harm commitments from the ultimate textual content which has been a part of the dialogue for years.

The worldwide local weather motion, 350.org, summarized the disappointments and hopeful features of the assembly consequence, noting

The brand new settlement doesn’t mirror the urgency of the local weather disaster
Some good agreements – however no measures to make sure implementation
Least developed and weak nations disregarded within the chilly
Divestment (from fossil gasoline reliance) is extra vital than ever
International momentum for actual options is stronger than ever and can carry on going.

In attempting to place a constructive spin on the general disappointment they felt, they concluded, Ultimately, a worldwide local weather treaty is only one device to fight local weather change. Actual change goes to proceed to come back from the grassroots. The UN Local weather Talks proceed to be a spot the place the world’s nations comes collectively to debate this disaster and individuals are placing in monumental efforts to verify Paris [the next global meeting] received’t be like Copenhagen which was stuffed with disappointments regardless of massive guarantees.

Samantha Smith, Chief of WWF’s International Local weather and Vitality Initiative, was fairly scathing of the assembly consequence saying that political expediency received over scientific urgency. She additionally famous that Developed nation governments couldn’t even handle to clarify how they may ship the long-promised US$100 billion per yr in local weather finance by 2020. In a transfer that seemingly dismissed the plight of probably the most weak nations, they fully eliminated any significant language about ‘loss and harm’.

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Mainstream media reporting

As with virtually each earlier assembly (with occasional exceptions), mainstream media reporting was very poor given the significance of this world concern. The place the assembly was reported it was usually in the direction of the tip, and simply sound chew kind summaries saying all nations agreed to emission cuts and that this was a serious enchancment.

Whereas the treaty continued to say it honors the long-standing widespread however differentiated tasks the mainstream media reporting (as in most years) has sometimes failed to supply rationalization and context of this precept that has been an vital a part of these talks for over 2 a long time; that poor and growing nations mustn’t bear the identical tasks because the developed ones (as a result of they aren’t the reason for the anthropogenic carbon emissions over the earlier a long time which have led to this, which is detailed way more on this web site’s web page on local weather justice).

A touch in the direction of this precept could have been offered as a viewpoint of China or India, given the impression they’re being obstacles, moderately then explaining this precept in additional context.

That was simply one of many points skirted over or omitted from widespread reporting. Others included points on financing, know-how assist for poorer nations, and so forth. Behind the scenes, for many years, wealthy nations have stalled on these items or actively prevented attempting to share know-how and so forth, which is barely reported.

Yearly, this criticism is product of mainstream reporting, so with out following these negotiations annually, it may be simple to come back away with the impression that this assembly had a constructive consequence.

However as this dialogue hosted by Democracy Now! reveals, there have been a lot of vital problems with rivalry:

Emissions-Chopping Deal Reached at COP 20 Lima, However Will It Assist Forestall Catastrophic Local weather Change?, Democracy Now!, December 15, 2014.

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In context: widespread however differentiated tasks

A few years in the past all nations agreed that local weather change was largely the results of actions from as we speak’s industrialized nations, as carbon dioxide — the primary greenhouse fuel — stays within the ambiance for many years. But, the poorest would find yourself struggling probably the most for an issue they largely didn’t trigger. The approaches to mitigation (emissions discount) would due to this fact be completely different for these teams of nations — the widespread however differentiated tasks precept.

It’s on this context that the dialogue for loss and harm has come about. And it’s one thing that wealthy nations are eager to eliminate .

The years of resistance on this concern (and plenty of others) means every time it’s mentioned once more the reactions appear to get much more hostile. Mixed with the dearth of detailed context within the mainstream media protection of this facet, it then turns into simpler every time to see culprits as China and India given their monumental greenhouse emissions lately, in comparison with the far better quantity by the industrialized nations over the longer interval. See this web site’s part on local weather justice for extra detailed background.

And as this web site has mentioned for years on the local weather justice web page, the wealthy nations are delaying any significant motion till it’s finally — and disproportionately — paid for the by the growing nations. New Delhi based mostly Nitin Sethi, affiliate editor at Enterprise Customary, interviewed within the earlier talked about video says the identical factor, however extra frankly:

There isn’t a motion that’s going to occur between now and 2020. All of that was to be finished by the developed nations. They [rich nations] principally have simply mentioned at Lima that we’re not going to do any greater than what we’re doing to this point, and the burden can shift onto the post-2020 period, the place different growing nations must share it. So, to me, it signifies actually negotiation in dangerous religion.

Nitin Sethi, Emissions-Chopping Deal Reached at COP 20 Lima, However Will It Assist Forestall Catastrophic Local weather Change?, Democracy Now!, December 15, 2014

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