Compared to last year’s fiasco at Copenhagen, the world climate summit at Cancun was a modest success. Here’s what was agreed.
- National emission plans are now part of a formal UN agreement and will be monitored and evaluated.
- Delegates confirmed that climate change remains a serious issue and there was a renewed commitment to prevent global warming exceeding two degrees.
- There was a new emphasis on adaptation. While preventing global warming remains an important goal, there was an acceptance that mitigation efforts could be too little, too late. Putting mechanisms in place to support poorer countries adapt to climate change is equally important.
- Renewed support for REDD, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation. Something like 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the destruction of rain forests, so slowing this process will have a big impact.
- A green climate fund will help poorer countries with new technologies to reduce their carbon intensity.
It’s by no means all good news – it remains unlikely that global temperature rise can be restricted to two degrees this century, and the really tough negotiations will be in South Africa next year when the Kyoto protocol expires. But the Cancun agreement is not only a small step in the right direction, but a lot better than many people hoped.