World leaders in Paris amid hopes for legally binding deal

There is a sense of optimism among many of the 140 countries participating at the conference, titled COP21 and starting today for arriving at an agreeable deal whereby countries agree to cut greenhouse gases. The last time this conference was held, in 2009 in Copenhagen, there was a sense of divide between the developed countries and the developing nations over the quantum of cuts. This year’s conference however promises to accomplish a lot.

On day one of the summit, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is expected to launch the multi billion dollar fund pledged for research into cleaner sources of energy, and countries agreeing to come on board will have to commit to doubling their budget on clean energy research and development until 2020. The key point of the summit is expected to be around long-term agreement of the summit, namely containing the temperatures. While the aim is to keep it from rising 2 degree C above pre-industrial era levels, the road map to achieve the same is likely to be a hard fought one. Some countries have taken a stand that containing global temperature to 1.5 degree C is a more realistic goal. 

Another ticklish point of the summit is over emission cuts pledged by countries and the process of verifying the same. Also, there is no way of punishing a country that fails to abide by its commitment. 

World leaders are “quite close” to reaching a deal to fight climate change when they meet in Paris, Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis, Europe’s first Green party head of state, said, adding any deal should be legally binding. “I hope that in Paris all countries’ leaders will agree on this legally binding document,” he said.

Asked about opposition from some countries including the United States to a legally binding treaty, he said: “The final decision will take until probably Dec. 11-12 but it seems that all countries understand, including the US, that there are goals that they want to reach during the next years and all countries are reducing emissions. “It means we are quite close to such an accord and a new Kyoto agreement, which would be a Paris agreement, hopefully will be reached,” he said, referring to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that set mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions for industrialised countries.

France on Saturday almost all governments had outlined plans for fighting global warming beyond 2020 in a step towards resolving obstacles to an agreement at the summit.