Divided opinions on the result of COP16

In the world of social media, environmentalists, scientists, reporters and the like are commenting on the outcome of the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) in Cancun.

An agreement was made, which has been seen as a follow-up to the Copenhagen Accord. Nations such as Bolivia feel it is not progressive enough, with Africa also stating that a stronger agreement is needed: "South Africa may not be happy with everything achieved, but negotiations are essentially about compromise," said South African Democratic Alliance MP, Gareth Morgan, in a statement on Sunday.

Officials admit that it is an interim agreement until a legally-binding treaty is made next year.

Following Cancun, COP17 will be in Durban, South Africa, where the Kyoto Protocol will be either extended or renewed. Alternatively, a new global treaty could be made, that will cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change, decrease deforestation, and ultimately combat climate change.

The Cancun Agreement, which took four years to negotiate, should help to prevent deforestation, promote the transfer of low-carbon technologies to developing countries and, by 2020, establish a Green Climate Fund, which will raise USD$100 billion annually to shield the more vulnerable countries from climate change.

Gordon Shepherd, Head of WWF's Global Climate Initiative, released a statement on Saturday. He said: "Countries under Kyoto recognised more firmly that they need to reduce emissions [from] 25 to 40 per cent by 2020 and acknowledged that their pledges for emission reductions are just a start and much more is needed to reach the shared goal of limiting temperature increase to 2C."

A Greenpeace reporter, Elizabeth Ruiz, said that had it not been for the negative influence of the US, Russia and Japan, a better, firmer agreement could have been reached. She carried on to say, that negative statements released by Russia and Japan, where unhelpful, and that the US's meagre commitments meant that extending the Kyoto Protocol was always going to be a distant goal.

Fortunately countries such as China, the EU and India have made commitments, and have already pledged monies towards the Green Climate Fund. Shepherd said that although we have seen additional leadership from these nations, they need to "increase their mitigation commitments, to close the gap between current emission reduction pledges".

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have seen progress as positive, and are pleased that an agreement was finally made.

"Cancún has done its job. The beacon of hope has been reignited and faith in the multilateral climate change process to deliver results has been restored," said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. "Nations have shown they can work together under a common roof, to reach consensus on a common cause. They have shown that consensus in a transparent and inclusive process can create opportunity for all," she said.

Greenpeace released a statement today (December 13), saying that it is now down to Governments, who need to make sure that they stay steadfast to the proposals made at Cancun. As the agreement is not legally-binding, it is fundamental that nations do everything they can to curb their GHG emissions, and move forward to becoming environmentally sustainable, thus slowing down global warming. "Civil society in every corner of the world must now pressure their leaders to redouble their efforts to drive change at home and come to Durban ready to strike a deal."

Author: Charity Knight | Climate Action

Image: Namibnat | flickr