After two weeks of talks in the Mexican holiday resort of Cancun, the United Nations finally came to an agreement on how to approach the problems of global climate change. The “Cancun Agreements” mostly flesh out last year's Copenhagen Accord by agreeing that a fund needs to be set up for developing countries and recognising that deeper cuts in carbon emissions are needed.
However, the fund agreement is non-legally binding and, although it was agreed greater cuts are needed in carbon emissions, the nations could only reaffirm their agreement that the world average temperature should be no more than 2°C, but declined to commit collectively to real and binding targets for emission cuts.
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne described the deal as a “serious package” of measures but acknowledged that the agreement did not give everybody everything they wanted and would still require work towards a final deal at a meeting next year in Durban, South Africa.
David Norman, director of campaigns at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said a new climate change treaty had never been on the cards, “There was such a disappointment, such a breakdown of trust at Copenhagen last year, this was very much about rebuilding the basis for an agreement.”
“What we have now is a text that, while not perfect, is certainly a good basis for moving forward”, said chief negotiator Todd Stern.
The “Green Climate Fund” was agreed as part of efforts to channel billions of pounds to poor countries to help them cope with the impacts of global warming and develop without polluting. It is thought that a £60 billion fund will be provided to poor countries by 2020 with a new Adaptation Committee supporting countries as they establish climate protection plans.
It is estimated that the UK will contribute around £1.5 billion a year to the fund by, which is expected to come partly from public sources such as carbon taxes, as well as from private investment.
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