The ‘Cancun Agreements’ were the principal outputs from the 16th annual UN climate
conference (COP16) held in Cancun, Mexico from Nov. 29 to Dec. 10, 2010. The
Agreements consist of two formal conference decisions, which anchor progress made
in the twin-track Convention and Protocol negotiations over the last two to three years.
Cancun has restored the sanctity of multilateral negotiations under the UN climate convention. People had lost faith in it by the end of the Copenhagen meet last year. But what is the cost of the Cancun success?
Bangladesh needs US $10 billion for mitigation and adaptation to climate changes in the next five to 10 years, said Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, co-ordinator of the National Climate Change Negotiation
Cancun has restored the sanctity of multilateral negotiations under the UN climate convention. People had lost faith in it by the end of the Copenhagen meet last year. But what is the cost of the Cancun success? The new deal erases the difference between developed and developing nations. Developed countries no more have to commit legally to cut emissions.
On the night of December 10, 2010 Patricia Espinosa shed a tear and received a standing ovation. The foreign secretary of Mexico and president of the 16th Conference of Parties (CoP) on Climate Change held in Cancun had just read out her speech urging all negotiating parties to accept a draft agreement anchored by her country.
The year 2010 offered mixed results concerning global climate policy, with serious setbacks as well as some small victories. In the United States, plans on long-awaited domestic climate legislation were abandoned. In China and India, national climate legislation has made small advances, but expansion of fossil-based long-term infrastructure continues to rise steeply.
When the dust settles after the Cancun climate change conference of the United Nations, a careful analysis will find that the adoption of the “Cancun Agreements” may have given the multilateral climate system a shot in the arm, but that the meeting also failed to save the planet from climate change and helped pass the burden of climate mitigation onto developing countries.
