Copenhagen accord what is it

As a political necessity, the Copenhagen Accord continues to reflect the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, but in a very different manner than in Kyoto. Developed countries committed to implement economy-wide emission reduction "targets," subject to international MRV, while developing country "actions" will be subject to international MRV only if they receive international support and to national MRV otherwise.

Nevertheless, the Copenhagen Accord reflects an apparent shift by China, India, Brazil, and South Africa, which begins to break the so-called "firewall" between developed and developing countries. For the first time, major developing countries have agreed to reflect their national emission reduction pledges in an international instrument, to report on their GHG inventories and their mitigation actions in biennial national communications, and to subject their actions either to MRV for internationally supported actions or "international consultation and analysis under clearly defined guidelines that will ensure that national sovereignty is respected" for domestically supported actions.

This outcome may seem like a rather modest achievement, but it represents some measure of "internationalization" of developing country actions. In any event, if world leaders could not agree to more through direct negotiations, under an intense international spotlight, it is hard to see why mid-level negotiators will be able to achieve more anytime soon.

As a result, the Copenhagen Accord may well represent the high-water mark of the climate change regime for some time to come. For background on the Copenhagen Conference, see Cymie R.

Skip to main content. February 16, Introduction Since the Kyoto Protocol's entry into force in , attention has focused on the question of what to do after , when the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period ends. The Copenhagen Accord The Copenhagen Accord is a political rather than a legal document, negotiated by a group of about twenty-five heads of state, heads of government, ministers, and other heads of delegations.

Climate Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. The accord provided for explicit emission pledges by all major economies — including, for the first time, China and other major developing countries — but charted no clear path toward a treaty with binding commitments.

The Copenhagen conference culminated two years of intense negotiations launched with the Bali Action Plan and drew a level of political attention well beyond that of any previous climate meeting. By its closing days, the summit had drawn well over heads of state and government. The basic terms of the Copenhagen Accord were brokered directly by a handful of key country leaders on the final day of the conference.

The accord also called for the establishment of a new Green Climate Fund. The Copenhagen Accord provided for explicit emission pledges by all major economies — including, for the first time, China and other major developing countries — but no clear path toward a binding treaty. A new political accord struck by world leaders at the U.

Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen provides for explicit emission pledges by all the major economies — including, for the first time, China and other major developing countries — but charts no clear path toward a treaty with binding commitments. The basic terms of the Copenhagen Accord were brokered directly by President Obama and a handful of key developing country leaders on the final day of the conference, capping two weeks of harsh rhetoric and pitched procedural battles that made the prospect of any agreement highly uncertain.

In the end, parties adopted parallel decisions under the U. In separate decisions, parties extended Ad Hoc Working Groups under both the Convention and the Protocol to continue negotiating toward a fuller agreement in late in Mexico. The unusual set of outcomes leaves uncertainty, however, about the formal standing of the Copenhagen Accord under the U. The accord also calls for the establishment of a Copenhagen Green Climate Fund, a High-Level Panel to examine ways of meeting the finance goal, a new Technology Mechanism, and a mechanism to channel incentives for reduced deforestation.

See details below. The Copenhagen conference culminated two years of intense negotiations launched with the Bali Action Plan. Ministers, who ordinarily attend only the final days of the annual COP, arrived the first week hoping to unlock the stalled talks. As a result, the total number of Parties that have expressed their intention to be listed as agreeing to the Accord is Further Parties who wish to be listed, kindly send respective communications to secretariat unfccc.

Communications received from Parties in relation to the listing in the chapeau of the Copenhagen Accord can be found here. Specific information provided by Parties on quantified economy-wide emissions targets for and on nationally appropriate mitigation actions of developing country Parties can be found here:.