For the past two years, the problem of how to deal with climate change and implement low-carbon development has become the focus of the world during the annual Conference of the Parties (COP), held in Copenhagen in 2009 and Cancun in 2010. This year, Chinese delegates have frequently been seen on the international stage to discuss climate change and coordinate with delegates from different countries in preparation for COP 17, to be held in Durban, South Africa, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9.

From Copenhagen to Cancun

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in December 1997 as a formal international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). While the UNFCCC encouraged industrialized countries to stabilize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the Kyoto Protocol committed them to do so. It bound 37 industrialized countries and the European Community to reduce GHG emissions, while, in line with the central principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities," developing countries make their cuts on a voluntary basis. The Kyoto Protocol is generally seen as an important first step towards a truly global emission reduction regime that will stabilize GHG emissions, and provides the essential architecture for any future international agreement on climate change.

As the First Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol approaches its expiration in December 2012, developed and developing countries are still split over issues like long-term emission targets, financial assistance and technology transfer, and, as a result, the Copenhagen Conference in 2009 ended in uncertainty and the following year's conference in Cancun again plunged into confusion.

In December 2009, after hard negotiations, the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change finally issued a number of decisions in the form of the Copenhagen Accord. This document adheres to the dual-track negotiation system established under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. It further defines the concept of common but differentiated responsibilities of developed and developing nations, and expresses the wish to reach consensus in the international community on long-term objectives, funding, technology, and transparency in tackling climate change problems. But it failed to reach a global climate agreement for the years beyond 2012 when the First Commitment Period (2008-2012) under the Kyoto Protocol expires.

One year later, participating countries finally stroke a deal at the two-week-long Cancun Conference. The agreement covers the establishment of the Green Climate Fund to help developing nations, measures to protect tropical forests and a mechanism for clean energy technology transfer to developing countries. It also reaffirmed a commitment reached at the Copenhagen Conference to provide US $100 billion a year to help developing countries fight global warming. However, the conference still did not settle the future of the Kyoto Protocol, nor did it adopt a new and more comprehensive treaty incorporating all countries.

As the last climate talk summit before the expiration of the First Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol, the Durban Conference will have a far-reaching influence on the sustainability of humanity's development and survival.

Top Priority

How to constitute an international binding agreement to set goals and divide responsibilities of different countries by the end of the First Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol at the end of 2012 and how to limit temperature rise to two degrees centigrade by the end of the century are the top priorities of international environmental concern.

"We hope this year's negotiations can stick to the Bali Roadmap and move ahead on the Kyoto Protocol consensus to achieve a comprehensive and balanced outcome in Durban," said Xie Zhenhua, deputy director of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). He hopes that climate talks in Durban will stick to the dual-track negotiating mechanism of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.

Su Wei, China's chief negotiator on climate change and head of the Climate Change Department of NDRC, also called on delegates to leave no time gap between the First and Second Commitment Periods of the Kyoto Protocol.

The core issue in Durban is to continue to put the Bali Roadmap into practice, which was agreed by all parties in late 2007 and outlined the main schedule for climate talks afterwards. In Durban, developed countries need to make progress on extending the Kyoto Protocol and setting new emission cut targets, and those industrialized nations refusing to commit to the Kyoto Protocol have to make "comparable commitments" under the UNFCCC.

While developing countries have made the continuation of the protocol a high priority, some countries expressed their unwillingness to have the Second Commitment Period after the first one expires in 2012 because of the lack of "environmental integrity" due to the refusal by some countries, such as the United States, to accept legally binding emission reduction targets as stipulated in the Annex 1 of the Kyoto Protocol. Some industrialized countries, such as Japan, Russia and Canada, have voiced a clear intention to walk away and build a new framework for agreement.

Scientists and a UN panel of climate change say that developed countries must cut 25 to 40 percent in carbon emissions on 1990 levels in order to avoid severe climate change. However, the commitments made so far by developed countries amount to only a 13 to 17 percent reduction.

Mid-term climate funding will be another focus in Durban. At the 2009 Copenhagen summit, developed countries pledged to offer US $30 billion of "fast start" aid from 2010 to 2012 to help poor nations to combat climate change and obtain clean-energy technology, but at present there are no concrete financial aid commitments from developed countries beyond 2013.

"We must find solutions to mid-term funds from 2013 to 2020 in Durban, and developed countries should fulfill their commitments in Copenhagen and Cancun," Su said.

Last year's Cancun deal included a formation of so-called Green Climate Fund, in which developed countries would channel US $100 billion of climate funding per year by 2020. But how to raise and allocate the money remained unclear.

Since this year's decision-making summit is hosted in Africa, the meeting should pay special attention to the concerns of African countries, many of which are most vulnerable to climate change and urgently need technological and financial support from the developed world.

Seek Unity

In order to reach a new binding international agreement, it is necessary to unify the political consciousness of different countries. However, various political appeals and practical benefits that have intermingled with the negotiations have made it complicated.

The issue of climate change seems to be head and shoulders above the scope of environmental concerns, which has become increasingly politicized. Different groups, such as the EU, the Umbrella Group (a loose coalition of non-EU developed countries formed following the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol), and the G77, all have their interests and concerns, and propose different standards and express diverse views during the negotiations. To achieve political consensus, leaders of different countries must start from a global perspective and consider the concerns of other countries before reaching a political decision.

Developing countries are already pledging greater cuts in greenhouse gas emissions than developed countries, according to a recent study published by the international charity organization Oxfam. The report estimates that at least 60 percent of emission cuts by 2020 currently on the table are likely to be made by developing countries.

"During the period from 2006 to 2010, China lowered its energy consumption per unit GDP by 19.1 percent from the 2005 level, equivalent to a reduction of 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This is a great contribution to combating climate change," said Su Wei.

China insists on the "common but differentiated responsibilities" principle and has made commitments appropriate to a developing country. It has been active in promoting the institutionalization of clean development and emissions trading mechanisms. At the 2009 Copenhagen Summit, China promised a per unit GDP carbon emissions reduction of 40-45 percent by 2020, showing its sincerity in meeting its environmental obligations as a trustworthy developing country and the importance it attaches to the issue of climate change and international cooperation in the field.

Early in November, at the Ninth BASIC (a bloc of four large developing countries – Brazil, South Africa, India and China) Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change in Beijing, participating ministers from Brazil, South Africa, India and China, have reached a consensus on a range of issues, including the Second Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol.

According to a joint statement from the BASIC countries, ministers agreed that the Durban talks should achieve a comprehensive, fair and balanced outcome. The Second Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol is the highest priority for achieving success at the Durban conference.