COP15 Recap Week 1: Climate Change Agreement Drafts and Draft Wars

The final week of the Copenhagen climate change summit is to begin. A summary of the first week with the key event of each day:

Day 1 & 2. The 192 nation conference opened with the goal of the week: to come up with a first draft. Day 2 Danish Text: An unofficial draft of the climate treaty was released by the Guardian  (British newspaper)  and caused an uproar among developing nations. It was called "The Copenhagen Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change" (COP15, 2009). Its major points: by 2020 global emissions should peak (acknowledging a longer timeframe for developing nations), by 2050 rich nations should reduce emissions 80% below levels of 1990 with an interim reduction target set by 2020, and that "developing countries, except the least developed which may contribute at their own discretion, commit to nationally appropriate mitigation actions."

Day 3 & 4. Developing nations were split over the details such that one island nation Tuvalu had asked and received a suspension on the conference to allow developing nations to sort things out behind closed doors. The split occurred when the least developed nations and Africa wished to limit carbon emissions to 350 ppm and only accept a 1.5C global temperature increase instead of the previously mentioned 2C. More developed nations like China and India dismissed the idea believing their economic growth would be stifled. In the end the bigger developing nations won. Day 4 Duel on Drafts: A draft called the "Copenhagen Accord" by China, India, South Africa, & Brazil - the four major emerging economies - was released as a rebuttal to the "Danish Text" aka the "Copenhagen Agreement." The Accord calls on developed countries to reduce emissions by 5% by 2012 and eventually 40% by 2020, comparable to the levels of 1990. A key issue was a "binding" amendment to add legal punishment to countries that fell short.

Day 5 & 6. EU puts money on the table - $3.6M, or 2.4M Euros a year, which adds to the prescribed $10B yearly fund for the developing countries until 2012 when the fund will be renewed. Critics scoffed at what resembled a drop compared to bank bailout money and Africa demanded annual 5% GDP ($722M= 5% US GDP). EU leaders also gave a conditional target of 30% by 2020 (to 1990 levels) if the US and Canada would follow suit. Day 6: A draft agreement on the table with contributions. Key agreements have been reached in how solar and wind technology will be transferred to developing nations. Also progress was made for afforestation. The big issues: funding and targets, remain unresolved. And again, USA-led rich nations targeted developing nations for not being more legally bound by the draft.

Day 7. African Nations threaten to scuttle deal. Support comes from China who promised not to sign without Africa. Thus revealed the single most important factor of the climate change deal: funding, and not emissions targets. The most important green isn't environmental or energy, but cash.

Photo Credit: Flickr