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COP20—Lima Local weather Convention — International Points

October 11, 2024
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  • by Anup Shah
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On this web page:

  1. Introduction
  2. Assembly final result
  3. Mainstream media reporting
  4. In context: frequent however differentiated obligations
  5. Extra data
  6. 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 final result

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

Whereas for a lot of it seemed like a profitable final result, others had been dissatisfied, resembling poor international locations struggling to rebuild from present impacts of local weather change who had been alarmed on the disappearance of loss and injury 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 final result, noting

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

In making an attempt to place a constructive spin on the general disappointment they felt, they concluded, In the long run, 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 international locations comes collectively to debate this disaster and persons are placing in monumental efforts to verify Paris [the next global meeting] gained’t be like Copenhagen which was stuffed with disappointments regardless of large guarantees.

Samantha Smith, Chief of WWF’s International Local weather and Vitality Initiative, was fairly scathing of the assembly final result saying that political expediency gained over scientific urgency. She additionally famous that Developed nation governments couldn’t even handle to elucidate 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 essentially the most weak international locations, they fully eliminated any significant language about ‘loss and injury’.

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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 situation. The place the assembly was reported it was typically in the direction of the tip, and simply sound chunk sort summaries saying all international locations agreed to emission cuts and that this was a serious enchancment.

Whereas the treaty continued to say it honors the long-standing frequent however differentiated obligations the mainstream media reporting (as in most years) has usually failed to offer 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 international locations shouldn’t bear the identical obligations 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 far more on this web site’s web page on local weather justice).

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

That was simply one of many points skirted over or omitted from frequent reporting. Others included points on financing, expertise help for poorer nations, and so forth. Behind the scenes, for many years, wealthy international locations have stalled on this stuff or actively averted making an attempt to share expertise and so forth, which is barely reported.

Yearly, this criticism is manufactured from mainstream reporting, so with out following these negotiations annually, it may be straightforward to come back away with the impression that this assembly had a constructive final result.

However as this dialogue hosted by Democracy Now! exhibits, there have been quite a few vital problems with competition:

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

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In context: frequent however differentiated obligations

A few years in the past all nations agreed that local weather change was largely the results of actions from at present’s industrialized nations, as carbon dioxide — the principle greenhouse fuel — stays within the ambiance for many years. But, the poorest would find yourself struggling essentially 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 frequent however differentiated obligations precept.

It’s on this context that the dialogue for loss and injury has come about. And it’s one thing that wealthy international locations are eager to do away with .

The years of resistance on this situation (and plenty of others) means every time it’s mentioned once more the reactions appear to get much more hostile. Mixed with the shortage of detailed context within the mainstream media protection of this side, it then turns into simpler every time to see culprits as China and India given their monumental greenhouse emissions in recent times, in comparison with the far higher 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 ultimately — and disproportionately — paid for the by the growing nations. New Delhi primarily based Nitin Sethi, affiliate editor at Enterprise Customary, interviewed within the earlier talked about video says the identical factor, however extra frankly:

There is no such thing as a motion that’s going to occur between now and 2020. All of that was to be executed by the developed international locations. They [rich nations] mainly have simply mentioned at Lima that we aren’t going to do any greater than what we’re doing thus far, and the burden can shift onto the post-2020 period, the place different growing international locations must share it. So, to me, it signifies actually negotiation in dangerous religion.

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

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Extra data

Because the convention continues to be underway as this web page is written, extra data might be added right here after the occasion is over.

For extra in regards to the points from different organizations, listed below are some beginning factors:

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Information tales from IPS

Beneath is a listing of tales from Inter Press Service associated to the Lima local weather convention and its aftermath.

  1. With Local weather Change, Authorities Apathy, Who Ought to Kerala’s Fishworkers Flip To?