Energy Saving News
Emission Submissions
The Copenhagen Summit in December last year has implications for all interested in energy saving, as it will be the driver of much legislation and incentives for action to be taken by all to manage their energy use.
January 31st was the deadline for nations to submit their emission reduction plans and the UN have revealed that 55 developed and developing countries submitted their plans, accounting for 78 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, with most of the world's largest emitters, including the US, China, India, the EU, Japan, Brazil and South Africa.
Todd Stern, US climate envoy, confirmed that the US will aim for a 17% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions based on 2005 levels by 2020. This target is a 4% reduction on the 1990 levels, which most nations are pushing for as a baseline.
The EU has kept its pledge to a unilateral 20% cut in emissions based on 1990 levels by 2020, and also confirmed that it would raise the target to 30% if other industrialised nations do likewise and developing countries promise to make adequate contributions.
An ambitious pledge comes from Norway, which has committed to a cut of at least 30% on 1990 levels by 2020 and stating they would even go as far as cuts of 40% if other nations also commit to higher targets.
Two large emitters - Mexico and Russia - failed to meet the deadline. However, the UN had said that the cut-off date, was intended as a "soft deadline", hence Russia's commitment to curb emissions by 15 to 25 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020 had been added to the official document by yesterday morning, Tuesday February 2.
Other countries are also expected to make further submissions over coming weeks.
So far only Cuba has officially said it rejects the Accord.
Executive secretary of the UNFCCC, Yvo de Boer stated that the details of the Copenhagen Accord represented an "important invigoration" of the UN climate change talks, although he also reiterated that the talks would continue under the two tracks of Long-Term Cooperative Action under the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.
"The commitment to confront climate change at the highest level is beyond doubt," he added. "These pledges have been formally communicated to the UNFCCC. Greater ambition is required to meet the scale of the challenge. But I see these pledges as clear signals of willingness to move negotiations towards a successful conclusion."
Experts said that the emission targets in the submissions were well short of what is required to meet the Copenhagen Accord's stated goal of limiting temperature rises to two degrees above pre-industrial levels.
However, diplomats expressed optimism that it could provide the framework for a more ambitious deal, noting that it represents the first time that large emerging economies such as China and India have made written commitments to the international community that they will curb their carbon emissions.
Wednesday 3rd February 2010
