For country commitments to form the basis of an effectively
functioning agreement, a framework of international
climate machinery needs to be built around them.
China Prime Minister Wen Jiabao today announced his country’s plan to cut carbon-emissions intensity 40 to 45 percent by 2020 compared to 2005 levels. The details will be presented at the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark early next month.
China’s announcement signals its commitment both to the climate conference in Copenhagen, and its intent to achieve significant domestic emissions reductions.
President Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen on December 9 to participate in the United Nations climate conference. He will call for a U.S. emission-reduction target of 17 percent below 2005 levels in 2020 and ultimately in line with final U.S. energy and climate legislation.
As UNFCCC negotiators work to develop
shared expectations around adaptation
planning, it is critical that they
provide a high degree of flexibility to
countries, so that planning processes
can be domestically “owned” and plans
effectively implemented. The UNFCCC
should not require countries to undertake
specific planning processes or deliver
plans in a specific format.
Leaders of China and the U.S. announced today that their countries will work hard alongside other nations to produce a substantive international climate agreement at a major United Nations climate conference next month.
Last week’s climate talks brought into relief the complex mix of politics and policies that countries are grappling with heading into COP-15 next month.