English.news.cn
2010-12-12 22:55:10
======================================================
BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- United Nations climate change conference in Mexico has concluded after tense talks for two weeks, with agreements adopted to tackle global climate changes and push ahead the UN-sponsored process, which won the applause of the international communities.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday hailed the outcomes of the conference as an "important success for a world much in need of it."
In a statement issued by his spokesman late on Saturday following the conclusion of the two-week UN climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, Ban said: "governments came together in common cause, for the common good, and agreed on a way forward to meet the defining challenge of our time."
"The outcomes in Cancun have given us important tools," he said in the statement. "Now we must use them, and strengthen our efforts in line with the scientific imperatives for action."
On the outcomes of the conference, the Chinese delegation said "that, first of all, it adheres to the (UN) Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Roadmap, as well as the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, which ensures that next year's negotiation will continue along the two tracks decided by the Bali Roadmap."
"Second, progress has been made at different levels in the areas where developing countries have concerns, such as adaptation, technology transfer, finance and capacity building, and the negotiation process will move on, which sends positive signals to the international community," the delegation said in a press release.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard Saturday issued statements in Brussels, congratulating on the success of the conference.
"The Cancun Agreement on climate change struck today represents an important step towards a comprehensive and legally binding framework for global climate action," said Barroso.
Barroso also said that the Cancun Agreement shows that the multilateral process can deliver.
The Carbon Markets and Investors Association said on Saturday that it welcomed the progress in the fields like "the green climate fund" at the Cancun conference.
The London-based association hoped the way involving the funds from the private sector to tackle climate changes could be clarified further in the future.
Some experts from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said that the outcomes of the Cancun conference showed that the international communities are capable to make crucial steps together to cope with climate changes.
Jeremy Hobbs, executive director of Oxfam International, said that the top achievement of the Cancun conference was that it breathed life into UN climate talks and negotiators can continue to push ahead climate talks within the UN framework again.
The 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Cancun finally reached a deal to fight global warming after an all-night session until early Saturday.
The conference reached agreements, dubbed the "Cancun Agreements," on a package of measures to build a low-carbon, climate-resilient future together.
Delegates attending the conference also agreed to ensure no gap between the first and second commitment periods of the Kyoto Protocol, an addition to the Convention that contains legally binding measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and whose first commitment period is due to expire in 2012.
An agreement was also reached on establishing a fund for long-term climate financing to support developing countries, and bolstering technological cooperation and enhancing vulnerable populations' ability to adapt to the changing climate. (editor: yan)
======================================================
BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- United Nations climate change conference in Mexico has concluded after tense talks for two weeks, with agreements adopted to tackle global climate changes and push ahead the UN-sponsored process, which won the applause of the international communities.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday hailed the outcomes of the conference as an "important success for a world much in need of it."
In a statement issued by his spokesman late on Saturday following the conclusion of the two-week UN climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, Ban said: "governments came together in common cause, for the common good, and agreed on a way forward to meet the defining challenge of our time."
"The outcomes in Cancun have given us important tools," he said in the statement. "Now we must use them, and strengthen our efforts in line with the scientific imperatives for action."
On the outcomes of the conference, the Chinese delegation said "that, first of all, it adheres to the (UN) Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Bali Roadmap, as well as the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, which ensures that next year's negotiation will continue along the two tracks decided by the Bali Roadmap."
"Second, progress has been made at different levels in the areas where developing countries have concerns, such as adaptation, technology transfer, finance and capacity building, and the negotiation process will move on, which sends positive signals to the international community," the delegation said in a press release.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard Saturday issued statements in Brussels, congratulating on the success of the conference.
"The Cancun Agreement on climate change struck today represents an important step towards a comprehensive and legally binding framework for global climate action," said Barroso.
Barroso also said that the Cancun Agreement shows that the multilateral process can deliver.
The Carbon Markets and Investors Association said on Saturday that it welcomed the progress in the fields like "the green climate fund" at the Cancun conference.
The London-based association hoped the way involving the funds from the private sector to tackle climate changes could be clarified further in the future.
Some experts from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said that the outcomes of the Cancun conference showed that the international communities are capable to make crucial steps together to cope with climate changes.
Jeremy Hobbs, executive director of Oxfam International, said that the top achievement of the Cancun conference was that it breathed life into UN climate talks and negotiators can continue to push ahead climate talks within the UN framework again.
The 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Cancun finally reached a deal to fight global warming after an all-night session until early Saturday.
The conference reached agreements, dubbed the "Cancun Agreements," on a package of measures to build a low-carbon, climate-resilient future together.
Delegates attending the conference also agreed to ensure no gap between the first and second commitment periods of the Kyoto Protocol, an addition to the Convention that contains legally binding measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and whose first commitment period is due to expire in 2012.
An agreement was also reached on establishing a fund for long-term climate financing to support developing countries, and bolstering technological cooperation and enhancing vulnerable populations' ability to adapt to the changing climate. (editor: yan)
=======================================================
| |||||||||||
By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY Lowered expectations to the rescue. Global climate negotiators put the best face on the modest agreements they reached at the just-concluded talks in Cancun, Mexico, to tackle the problem of worldwide carbon emissions. The more difficult work comes next, as delegates try to turn promises made at theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting into action in talks next year in Durban, South Africa, observers warn. "Expectations may have been set low enough to allow for success," says Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists, a science-advocacy group. "The agreement itself was a mixed bag, but it exorcised a lot of doubts about the international process itself." The "Cancun Agreement," finalized Saturday, garnered agreement from representatives of 193 nations, including the U.S. climate negotiator Todd Stern, on a number of initiatives to help combat a rise in global temperatures: •Green Climate Fund. Rich nations will yearly transfer $100 billion to poor ones by 2020 for cleaner energy and to help them adapt to climate change impacts such as drought and sea level rise. The exact source of the funds is undefined. •Forest protection. Financial mechanisms were developed to prevent clear-cutting of tropical forests that serve to store carbon from the atmosphere. Details of how forests will be monitored are to be determined. •Technology Executive Committee. The group will set up rules to transfer clean energy technologies to poor nations. Climate changes such as a rise in average global surface temperatures of 2 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit are likely in this century, concluded a 2009 U.S. National Academy of Sciences report, without significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions that largely result from burning fossil fuels. Controlling such emissions is why negotiators at Cancun also agreed to monitor promises made by 80 nations at last year's Copenhagen meeting to cut emissions, and move the assurances into its United Nations treaty process. They also called for developed nations to "increase the ambition" of their pledges. "The verification agreement was a bottom-line issue for the United States moving ahead," says climate analyst Jennifer Morgan of the World Resources Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental think tank. "Despite the doubts about a multi(nation) process to deal with climate, there was an agreement, and that's important." A series of workshops will precede the Durban meeting. That meeting will determine the fate of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which committed 37 industrial nations and the European Union— excluding the U.S. — to lowered greenhouse gas emissions. Japan and Russia almost sank the Cancun meeting, Meyer and others said, by announcing they would not sign up for a 2012 continuation of that treaty without nations such as China and India committing to emissions cuts. China and India agreed to consider future cuts, keeping alive the possibility of Japan and Russia signing on. "I think the Cancun outcome is a sign that the diplomatic process has become much more realistic about what it can achieve," says international relations expert David Victor of the University of California-San Diego. "But progress was in baby steps while the climate is changing in big leaps." ================================================= | |||||||||||
No comments:
Post a Comment