World leaders assembled in Copenhagen on the final day of a 12-day summit in a last-ditch attempt to ink the world’s first comprehensive treaty on climate change.
The fate of a successful deal hung in the balance as heads of states struggled to nail down details of a climate pact as disagreements on certain issues continued to plague the negotiations.
A final text was supposed to be announced sometime in the afternoon. The UN negotiations were due to end at 6pm but observers say the talks might go well into the night, or even extend till Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and US President Barack Obama addressed the faltering U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen but neither offered new commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The highly-anticipated speeches were eagerly watched by many delegates who were looking to fresh moves by the two economic giants US and China to break the deadlock in negotiations.
Both leaders made slight concessions in their speeches, however, on international verification of greenhouse gas emissions - a key battleground at this conference.
Developed countries want pledges by developing nations to be “internationalised” and its emission open to verification but nations such as China and India have stubbornly refused, claiming sovereignty rights.
Mr Wen said however, that China will further enhance its methods to “improve the way for releasing emission reduction information, increase transparency and actively engage in international exchange, dialogue and cooperation” - seen as an accommodating move on the issue.
Mr Obama also said in a following speech, that “these measures need not be intrusive, or infringe upon sovereignty.” “They must, however, ensure that an accord is credible, and that we are living up to our obligations. For without such accountability, any agreement would be empty words on a page,” he said.
He also added that the US will be part of a fast-start funding that will ramp up to US$10 billion in 2012. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had announced on Thursday, which injected some momentum into the talks, that the US will also back a US$100 billion fund for poorer countries to adapt to climate change by 2020 - only if it is part of a broader international agreement.
Leaders including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were said to have haggled into the early hours of last night to seek common ground for a global treaty.
Media reports which claimed to have seen one version of a leaked draft text said that it was “extremely weak”, and did not dictate the timing and degree of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
What seemed to be agreed on a cap of two deg C on global temperatures - a level that scientists have warned the world it cannot breach if dangerous climate change is to be avoided. The text also proposed US$30 billion in climate funds for least developed countries from 2010-2012, and a “goal” of $100 billion a year funding by 2020 to help developing nations adapt to the effects of climate change.
But there was reportedly no statement on who would pay the $100 billion or how they would raise the money.
A leaked text seen by eco-business.com suggested that China is on the verge of winning its war to keep its national target for cutting carbon dioxide emissions out of a formal international agreement. The document says that such “mitigation actions” taken by developing countries “will be subject to their domestic auditing, supervision and assessment”.
But those countries will have to report back in detail every two years and will be expected to provide “clarification on request”.
It also suggested that the treaty will not be legalised by next year.
Leaders are aiming to finalise a climate deal which countries will convert into a full legally binding treaty next year, to succeed the Kyoto Protocol which ends in 2012. The United States never ratified Kyoto, and the pact doesn’t bind developing nations. There are now suggestions by leaders – including UK prime minister, Gordon Brown – to extend negotiations for another year until the next scheduled UN meeting on climate change in Mexico City in December 2010.
Still, there is hope yet. Around 1pm yesterday, Mr Obama and Mr Wen had a 55-minute meeting in a room at the conference venue Bella Centre and “made progress”, said a White House official.
The official said the discussion was “constructive,” and that the two men touched on all of the three issues which Mr. Obama raised during his speech: emissions goals from all key countries, verification mechanism, and financing.
They were due to have another meeting at 6pm.
India’s lead negotiator Shyam Saran said separately at a press briefing: ” I wouldn’t say the Copenhagen meeting is heading for failure. “This is very much a work in progress… I don’t think we should approach these negotiations in that frame of mind.”
He said there will be “some kind of three to four page declaratory statement” on broad issues such as technology cooperation and finance.
The idea is to have ”some kind of general statement setting the stage for subsequent negotiations in 2010”, he added. ““‘There is a degree of convergence.”
Some top concerns remain, such as whether the Kyoto Protocol will be replaced or continued. ”The real issue is there are some countries who are trying to get out of a legally binding instrument”.
Negotiators are at work right now. ”We still have till the end of the day” he said.
