Copenhagen early draft irks poor states

9 Dec 2009, 1:49 pm   -   Source: AAP
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The draft - dated November 27 - was attacked as remote and too favourable to rich countries on such key issues of emissions curbs and financing for climate change, they said. (AAP)

The draft - dated November 27 - was attacked as remote and too favourable to rich countries on such key issues of emissions curbs and financing for climate change, they said. (AAP)

A draft deal has been hatched at the Copenhagen climate conference which would see Australia green up its actions on global warming.

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A draft deal has been hatched at the Copenhagen climate conference which would see Australia green up its actions on global warming.

Australia would have to slash its greenhouse emissions by 25 per cent in a decade if the deal got up, quadruple spending on climate-friendly research, and axe subsidies to fossil fuels.

And taxpayers would have to find millions of dollars to help poor countries.

The secret deal has been proposed by the Danes, who are in charge of the conference, with some support from Australia and Mexico.

The two-day old UN summit went into a frenzy when the deal was leaked to the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday. That's because some poorer countries think the deal is too soft on rich countries, and they have threatened to turn their backs on the negotiations - rendering the summit of 192 countries a failure.

The 13-page document aims to limit global warming to two degrees, which means Australia would have to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2020.

It says rich countries would have to cut emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 - that's more than Australia is promising. And rich countries would have to find $US10 billion ($A11 billion) a year right away to help poor countries tackle climate change.

The deal is more green than past proposals, but it's not green enough for poor countries, who think it would let rich countries off the hook on climate change. They're worried that the deal seems to ditch the old climate treaty, the Kyoto protocol, which made rich countries cut their emissions. And China is worried because the deal would insist on international verification of countries' greenhouse gas emissions - a sovereignty issue.

There was already a deep divide between rich and poor countries over climate change but the gloves came off on Tuesday at the rather frenzied Copenhagen summit. While there's plenty of posturing around the draft deal, it represents a step forwards.

Countries now have proposals in black and white that they can negotiate over.

There are other draft deals around too.

Europe's leaders will attempt to agree a two billion euros ($A3.2 billion) annual endowment to the world's poorer countries.

The 27 leaders of the European Union have a battle on their hands if they are to reach this target contribution, amounting to three billion euros ($A4.8 billion) per year between 2010 and 2012, not least because the sums are to be raised voluntarily.

Raised targets for cutting emissions within a decade down the line are already problematic, but as one European source underlined, here "it is a question of instant money, within the context of an economic crisis and squeezed budgets."

Opposition during negotiations on the issue in late October proved intense, gathering France, Germany, Italy and eastern EU powerhouse Poland behind an argument which said there should be no commitment to set figures.

Meanwhile, Erwin Jackson, who is at Copenhagen for Australia's Climate Institute, said the Danish draft was a "reasonable foundation" for a climate treaty. All the key elements were there, although there were still plenty of holes when it came to hard numbers.

The deal was a starting point for negotiations. "Everyone's going to have to give and take," Mr Jackson said.

Tony Mohr from the Australian Conservation Foundation described the deal as a "mixed bag" for the environment. The two degree goal was good, but countries' emissions promises would not achieve that yet.

"This is a draft, and it will need to be strengthened by world leaders before being adopted as the Copenhagen Agreement," said Mr Mohr, who is also at Copenhagen.

The 11-day summit began on Monday in the Danish capital. The first week is set aside for negotiators to thrash out details, with world leaders - including Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and US president Barack Obama - to arrive for the last few days to try to seal the deal. Climate Change Minister Penny Wong is to arrive on Wednesday.

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