The Copenhagen Accord

Ban ki-Moon, U.N. Secretary General
The Copenhagen Accord is the 3-page agreement that was drawn up at the end of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15) conference in Denmark. The 11th hour Friday night meeting that drafted the accord included leaders from the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa and was accepted by that group on Saturday morning at the very end of the conference.

The Copenhagen Accord is not a binding agreement, but a voluntary pledge to begin to take action on global warming. Other nations are invited to join the accord. President Obama, who led effort to broker the deal, is calling the accord “an unprecedented breakthrough.” President Obama also made an 8-minute, 956-word speech on Friday where he identified three ingredients needed for a successful final agreement

1) --- mitigation

2) --- transparency

3) --- financing.

The Center believes it falls far short of a binding treaty to combat global warming.

The Copenhagen Accord:

1) We underline that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time.

2) To reduce global emissions so as to hold the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius.

3) Developed countries shall provide adequate, predictable and sustainable financial resources, technology and capacity-building to support the implementation of adaptation action in developing countries.

4) Annex I Parties that are Party to the Kyoto Protocol will thereby further strengthen the emissions reductions initiated by the Kyoto Protocol.

5) Non-Annex I Parties to the Convention will implement mitigation actions, including
those to be submitted to the secretariat by non-Annex I Parties in the format given in Appendix II by 31 January 2010.

6) Enhance removals of GHG emissions by forests and through the immediate establishment of REDD-plus (reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation).

7) Pursue various approaches, including opportunities to use markets, to
enhance the cost-effectiveness of, and to promote mitigation actions.

8) Scaled up, new and additional, predictable and adequate funding as well as improved access shall be provided to developing countries: mobilizing jointly USD 100 billion dollars a year by 2020.

9) Panel to study the contribution of the potential sources of revenue, including alternative sources of finance.

10) Establish the Copenhagen Green Climate Fund to support projects, programme, policies and other activities in developing countries.

11) Technology Mechanism to accelerate technology development and transfer in support of action on adaptation and mitigation.

12) Assessment of the implementation of this Accord to be completed by 2015.