The United Nations Climate Change Conference Wrapped Up with Few Results -- Why It is so Difficult to Reach an Agreement?
Ping He, the President of International Fund for China’s Environment
The most painful working experience is overloaded but unproductive. The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, wrapped up in Madrid, after nearly two weeks of wrangling. Despite a two-day extension that made this the longest round of U.N. climate talks ever, the meeting was a massive failure. UN Secretary-General Guterres was disappointed, indicating that the international community has lost an important opportunity to show its ambition by mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis and raising funds to address the crisis.
Even though the United Nations Climate Change Conference ended with few concrete results, one environmentalist teenage girl, Greta Thunberg’s posing picture, has received wide attention.
Greta Thunberg was criticized posing in a picture before sitting back in the first-class train seat
To some extent, the awkward situation that the 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg facing is parallel to the current environmental protection condition. It is getting harder for different countries to have an agreement.
According to 《The Paris Accord》,Wealthy countries promised to make available $100 billion annually starting in 2020 to help less poorer nations meet climate goals. The latest data shows that richer countries averaged about $54.3 billion from 2013 through 2016, and hit $71.2 billion in 2017, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The shortfalls are stoking concerns that developed countries may not deliver on their funding pledge and are fueling a backlash against Paris Accord commitments. The developed countries did not make any promises about their further support to help other countries meet climate goals. Some developed countries even doubt the necessity of international financing mechanism. Tensions among developing countries and major economic bodies would be deepened if developed countries break their promises.
Over the past 25 years, the U.S. government’s commitment to climate actions has proven to be critical for progress at the U.N. talks. However, it has already committed to withdrawing from the Paris agreement since 2017, which watering down provisions for compensating poorer countries for loss and damage incurred from climate-linked disasters. United States is nowhere on track to meet its original commitments under the Paris Accord.
The U.S. cannot officially withdraw from the Paris agreement until Nov. 4, 2020, the day after the election. But Trump has repeatedly disavowed the pact, has dismissed climate change as a hoax and has begun dismantling the Obama-era regulations aimed at reducing the United States’ greenhouse gas output. It was a big contrast with the efforts four years ago by President Obama
One of the toughest negotiations was over a section of the Paris climate agreement known as Article 6 that governs international carbon markets. It's a major part of the Paris agreement, designed to reduce emissions of planet-warming gases, and has yet to be finalized. Countries came to the table with different priorities for how to structure these markets, and the rules they should use. The US, Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, India and other big polluters are accused of obstructionist behavior while Australia and Brazil stand accused of seeking loopholes to recycle old carbon credits in order to meet their commitments under the Paris Accord.
The EU, the world’s third-largest emitter, pushed at the U.N. summit for rules on international carbon markets. In the end, European negotiators refused demands from countries including Brazil, India and Australia that they thought would weaken efforts to reduce emissions. As they said, “We cannot support global rules which would undermine environmental integrity and take us back instead of taking us forward.”
Concerning climate change, countries hold different standpoints and purposes. Some island countries are eager to propel some corporations while countries who have been affected less refuse to step forward. Such division is an indicator for a global disorder.
In addition, Chile didn’t prepare well for and manage the conference efficiently, facing civil unrest back home. As the chair country for this conference, with a little more than four weeks before its launch, Chile had to pull out of hosting this event, largely because of sustained unrest in the country.
Nevertheless, even though global climate actions face challenges, negative consequences brought by climate change have been considerable. According to current emission condition, global temperature is expected to raise 3 to 4 celsius degree, bringing the Earth countless disasters. Countries should still unite and think of each other as companions rather than competitors. We look forward to 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference with countries’ understandings and better collaboration.
(The Chinese version of this commentary was on New Beijing Newspaper, Dec. 17, 2019)
