Quick and Dirty Update

The President of the COP released new texts and called parties back for informal stock-taking.

It has left me pinching myself. It is all beyond what I had hoped for.... It is not over yet.  So fingers crossed...

But the texts I am reading are on BOTH the Kyoto Protocol (KP) and Long-term Cooperative Action (LCA under the FCCC).  They are both free of square brackets which means the parties have agreed.

The KP text recognizes industrialized countries need to reduce emissions 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020.  It also sets out that a second commitment period under KP should use 1990 as a base year. It also recognizes the need to "raise the level of ambition of emission reductions" from industrialized countries.

The LCA text calls for no higher than 2 degrees, and that there is a need to consider keeping below 1.5 degrees.  It calls for a "paradigm shift towards building a low-carbon society...".  It also establishes a Cancun Adaptation Framework.

There is a great deal here and I have to run to a radio interview with CFAX.

When the COP president asked for a two hour additional round of work and adjourned, there was a huge standing ovation.

Yes, believe it or not -- Good news!