WWF - Countdown to historic climate meeting in Paris

20 Oct 2015 11:23 AM

Climate negotiators meet in Bonn for a final round of discussions before a historic meeting starts in Paris in six weeks, where a new global climate agreement is expected to be approved. 

By early October, 146 countries, representing almost 87 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, had submitted their climate targets to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

These country climate targets – called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or INDCs – will be the cornerstone of a new global climate deal to be agreed in December at a meeting of the 196 Parties who are members of the UNFCCC.

Dr Stephen Cornelius, WWF-UK’s chief adviser on climate change said:“The countries’ pledges to cut emissions are a major step forward but don’t take us far enough to prevent dangerous climate change. The next steps we take must be fair and deliver a safe future.”

Samantha Smith, leader of WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Initiative said: “Even as momentum outside of the UN climate negotiations has been steadily building – among faith groups, business and civil society – inside the negotiations progress has been slow and must now switch into high gear.

“Clearly, there is quite a bit of work still to be done to get the fair, ambitious and transformational climate deal the world needs. We must leave Bonn with a much stronger draft agreement than what we have at the moment, especially in terms of ensuring ambition and fairness throughout,” she said.

Tasneem Essop, head of WWF’s delegation to the UNFCCC said, “Coming out of Bonn, we will need a draft agreement that is easy to use as a basis for resolving issues that need political will to anchor ambition in line with the  latest climate science for limiting global warming.” This must include:

​While most of the focus in the negotiations is on what countries will do after 2020, it is vital that attention be kept on pre-2020 actions, said Essop.

“Science tells us that in order to keep global warming to well below 1.5 or 2 degrees, emissions must peak before 2020. These pre-2020 actions will need to provide a strong foundation given the already inadequate commitments made by governments through the INDC'S for the post-2020 period,” she said.

The current draft agreement contains many of the right elements for pre-2020 action. “We must move to implementation through scaling up efforts on renewable energy and energy efficiency and in the land-use sector, if we are to close the emissions gap,” said Essop.

For further information, contact:

Mike Eames  meames@wwf.org.uk / @mike_eames_wwf / +44 (0)7917 052 948

Mandy Jean Woods mwoods@wwf.org.za / @MandyJeanWoods  / +27 72 393 0027

Sam Smith ssmith@wwf.no  / @pandaclimate / +47 450 22 149

Tasneem Essop tessop@wwf.org.za / @tasneemessop 

About WWF

WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. The Global Climate & Energy Initiative (GCEI) is WWF’s global programme addressing climate change, promoting renewable and sustainable energy, scaling up green finance, engaging the private sector and working nationally and internationally on implementing low carbon, climate resilient development.