Stockholm, Aug. 21(Greenpost)–From 30 November to 11 December, the world’s leaders will gather in Paris for the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The session is particularly important since the countries are to agree on a new global climate agreement that will apply from 2020.
The Government wants to see a global, fair and legally binding climate agreement that will help keep global warming as far below two degrees Celsius as possible. The agreement must allow countries to take ever more ambitious emission reduction measures over time.
Sweden wants to see legally binding emissions limitation commitments for all countries. All countries should contribute according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities. Sweden also wants the agreement to cover support to low-income countries’ implementation of measures for both emission reductions and adaptation. Support should cover financing, technology diffusion and capacity-building. In particular, support is needed to strengthen efforts in the poorest and most vulnerable countries.
Being able to measure, report and verify countries’ emissions is a prerequisite for stronger commitments over time. The agreement must therefore contain fundamental principles for a common regulatory framework for transparency and monitoring of countries’ commitments and implementation.
All countries should present their contributions to the new agreement in good time before the Paris session. The EU’s decision to reduce emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030 is an important step, but a higher level of ambition is needed from both the EU and other parties that have submitted their bids.
The Government considers that a higher level of ambition prior to 2020 is important, both to close the gap between what countries are doing and necessary emission reductions, and to build confidence in the negotiations.
Much work remains before a new agreement can be put into place
Many difficult issues remain to be solved before and during the session in Paris, including what parts of the new agreement should be legally binding, how adaptation and emission reductions can be given equal political importance in the agreement, how climate financing can increase and which countries should contribute.
Reaching a global climate agreement in Paris is expected to be a major challenge, and even if an agreement is reached it will not provide a complete solution to the problem of climate change. The new agreement is needed to create a platform for more ambitious climate commitments and enhanced global action in the years ahead. However, a number of political and technical issues will remain after Paris, for example the detailed reporting regulations and market mechanisms under the new agreement.