Copenhagen, minimum agreement on climate to avoid failure
Copenhagen (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The UN climate conference ended with no agreement, endorsed by all countries present. After a long night of debate, the assembly only "took note" of the political agreement signed by the United States, China, India, Brazil and South Africa.
But for the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, the agreement is an "essential beginning", although "not what we hoped." This is not a formal and binding approval, but a first step toward full being fully operative. Ban Ki-moon stated that, after Copenhagen, work will begin immediately "to make binding agreement reached by 2010." Its importance, he stressed, will only be recognised when it's codified into international law."
The political agreement - a three-page document - sets a target of containment “under 2 ° C "of global warming compared to pre-industrial times, but does not prescribe the method of implementation. It also has an allocation of 100 billion dollars per year until 2020 for the developing world and those most at risk to climate change.
The document also speaks in general terms that "monitoring the implementation" of efforts to reduce carbon emissions, suggesting that each country will face a UN report every two years. Countries wanted a reduction in global warming of 1.5 ° and a binding legal agreement.
The representative of Sudan described the agreement as desired by the U.S., China and others as "suicide for Africa." The representative of Tuvalu has instead described it as a kind of betrayal in which rich countries have offered "30 silver coins" to destroy "our people and our future."
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