Reporting from the global climate conference in Lima, Peru, Ed King of RTCC notes that “time is running out for countries to develop the structure of a global agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions.”
While a much-anticipated global agreement to hold average global warming below 2°C (3.6°F) won’t be signed until governments meet in Paris in 2015, delegates to this year’s conference—the 20th in the series—“need to agree on what types of commitment they will make to a deal,” King writes.
WWF climate lead Tasneem Essop stressed that this year’s conference must deliver more than “just a list of bullet points defining elements.” But King reported progress as delegates gathered Monday, with India and seven other South Asian countries calling for a legally binding deal in Paris.
“There is the urgency for the global community to arrive at a Protocol, another legal instrument, or an agreed outcome with legal force applicable to all by the end of 2015,” said the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
