Greenwire: The United States, China and the European Union have all signed on to the Copenhagen Accord, writing to the United Nations before yesterday’s deadline to formally reaffirm their intention to combat global warming.
The United Nations plans to publish today a list of commitments by participating countries, which also include Australia, Indonesia, Canada, Japan and India. While the total number of participating countries has not yet been announced, it is expected to include at least 51 countries producing a substantial majority of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
While scientists say their promised reductions in emissions by 2020 are insufficient for the fulfillment of the accord’s goal to prevent global warming from exceeding 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the accord as a “crucial first step.”
“For the first time, the world will see, collected together, strong mitigation commitments by countries representing more than 80% of global emissions,” Brown wrote in a letter to government officials in London.
Developing countries that had called for binding emissions reduction targets said the accord should be considered just the start of efforts to combat climate change.
“The Copenhagen Accord is a step forward, but all nations must commit to the strongest possible actions, and adopt a legal treaty, if we are to ensure our survival,” said John Silk, foreign minister of the Marshall Islands, in a statement last week (Alex Morales, Bloomberg, Feb. 1). – GN