What happened during the first Cop-15 week

Here is a short brief about what has happened during the first week of Cop-15, so you can understand a little about the event dynamics: at first, the negotiators and articulators attend the event (know here who those from Brazil are). There are many debates and discussions that must result in documents to be worked on by the ministers and heads of state, who arrived last week (Lula, for example, will speak on December 17th. Obama will be there on the18th), when the so called high level negotiations begin. But as Cop-15 is atypical, the first week has also caused a stir. Even from Brazil, I could follow what was happening in Copenhagen by Internet. Following is a short brief with the hottest subjects, so you can be prepared for next week.

The non-document from Denmark

The first bomb has fallen in Copenhagen on Tuesday when the British newspaper The Guardian published a text from a non-official document attributed to the government of Denmark, with support by United Kingdom and USA, which outlines a proposition for an agreement even before the negotiations begin. The text has suggested that developing countries should assume compulsory goals to reduce the emissions, not allowing them to emit more than 1.44 tons of carbon per head until 2050, as the wealthy countries could emit 2.67 tons, that is, almost double. The text has caused rage among the developing countries. China reacted articulating with countries from G77 to write another document. (Read here a good analysis about this mess).

An archipelago on the Pacific stops the Cop

At the Bella Center, where the conference takes place, there have also been protests. Representatives from the African civilian society ran trough the corridors yelling that “2 degrees were suicide”. They want to reach a consensus that the temperature of the planet can increase at most 1 Celsius degree in relation to pre-industrial levels until 2100. The archipelago of Tuvalu is another one suffering the consequences of global warming and runs the risk of being vanished from the map. On Tuesday, the country has asked for temporary suspension of the negotiations due to a deadlock: the lack of consensus regarding its request to create a group to discuss its proposition, presented six months ago, for the new stage of the Kyoto Protocol. There were manifestations in the corridors to support Tuvalu. On Friday, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) presented that proposition, which would result in the creation of a Copenhagen Protocol, including the USA on the goals of reduction.

United States sets foot

Yet on the beginning of the week, finally, the USA, through its environmental agency, EPA, has assumed what the entire world already knew: the greenhouse gases emitted by human activity are warming the planet. That was a first step. But from the middle of the week, the main North-American negotiator, Todd Stern, made clear that his country denies the idea of historical responsibility, by which the countries that have emitted pollutants in the course of time hold more responsibility on the global warming. The argument is that, until then, these effects weren’t known. The negotiator has also affirmed that the USA wouldn’t accept a proposition that does not include developing countries and that is not possible to work with a maximum goal of increase in temperature by 1.5 degree Celsius, proposed by some countries. “We have to mix science with pragmatism”, he declared.

First base-text for an agreement

On Friday morning, the first preparatory document for the next week negotiations was released. It’s about a seven-page-file, quoted to be the basis for an agreement, developed by the Long-term Cooperative Actions group – most known by its acronym: AWG-LCA-, which is co-run by the head of the Brazilian negotiations, Ambassador Luiz Alberto Figueiredo. (At Cop-15 there is still another working group, the AWG-PK, which takes care of the Kyoto Protocol). Examples of what the document points: global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, 85% or 90% until 2050; reduction on the emissions by developed countries between 25% and 40% in relation to 1990; for developing countries, diversion of the increment of emissions between 15% and 30% in relation to what would be emitted in 2020 if anything isn’t done. The document, which also raises the possibility of limiting Earth’s maximum temperature in 1.5 degree Celsius, wasn’t very welcomed by the USA and Japan, according to a story of yesterday by the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo.

Upgrade on the European Union goal

Still on Friday, the European Union announced the increase on its goal to cut emissions, from 20% to 30% in relation to 1990 levels. It also talked about the passing of funds to developing countries. 7.2 billion Euros distributed throughout the next 3 years. According to the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, this represents 30% of the calculated needed amount for that period of time.