PARIS (December 11, 2015)—Last evening, a revised version of the negotiation text was released at the UN climate talks, also referred to as COP21, in Paris. Below is a statement from Alden Meyer—director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) who has attended all but one COP since its inception—on what is next for the negotiations.
“Since Wednesday, ministers and negotiators have made some progress. They have reached agreement on the key issue of achieving global warming emissions neutrality in the second half of this century as needed to hold global temperature increases well below 2 degrees Celsius. They have also agreed on a process for reviewing and updating nationally proposed emissions reduction contributions. But on other critical issues, such as providing adequate climate finance to developing countries and addressing the loss and damage associated with adverse climate impacts, negotiators have yet to reach a consensus. Ministers and negotiators will once again be working through the night to resolve these and other issues where differences remain.
“As we head into the final hours, the goal remains the same as it was when leaders kicked off the Paris climate summit with clarion calls for urgent action: to create an agreement that accelerates the transition to a global clean energy economy, allows us to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, and provides help to vulnerable countries to cope with the impacts they are already experiencing.”