Kyoto Agreement

Vision for international climate protection: low carbon development and 2°C The goal of limiting global temperature rise to 2°C lends a strategic direction to economic development in this century. This goal calls for at least a halving of global emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.

Risks to water and food supplies. While the total global agricultural production may not decline in a warmer climate, many poorer and warmer countries can expect reductions in yields due to water shortages and weather extremes. The water supply of major cities like Lima is threatened when mountain glaciers disappear.

Establishing a reliable and long-term price signal for carbon dioxide creates effective incentives for worldwide mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon market generates this price signal and at the same time creates the flexibility which participating companies need with regard to when and where they wish to achieve the required emissions reductions. Alongside emissions trading, the Kyoto mechanisms should be scaled up and the European Emissions Trading Scheme linked up to comparable systems in other regions (e.g. North America, Australia, Japan and other countries, including emerging economies). Furthermore, auctioning emission allowances and imposing charges on the use of the market can generate resources for financing adaptation measures, developing key technologies and/or reducing emissions from deforestation.

In order to at least halve global emissions below 1990 by 2050 so as to increase the likelihood of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, such as the complete melting of the Greenland ice sheet, an ambitious and inclusive post-2012 agreement is needed. This agreement should be based on the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol and include a set of equitable commitments from all major economies to reduce or curb emissions of greenhouse gases. In order to stay below 2°C, global emissions must peak and decline in the next 10 to 15 years. While a carbon price and expanded markets should be a key element of the post-2012 regime, new and innovative technology deployment and adaptation funds should be created in order to both drive low carbon investment and ensure that the most vulnerable countries are able to adapt to the impacts. Time is short. Countries should have completed negotiations on the post-2012 regime by 2009.

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