90% of countries to outline climate action by Oct before Paris meet

By Liu Caiyu Source:Global Times Published: 2015-5-17 23:48:01

Close to 90 percent of countries which will participate in this year's climate conference in Paris are expected to publicly outline post-2020 climate actions they intend to take by October under the new international agreement, known as their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), according to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Beijing on Saturday.

The 21st UN Climate Conference (COP 21) will be held in Paris near the end of 2015, and the INDCs will largely determine whether the world achieves an agreement and is put on a path toward a low-carbon future. 

Since the first UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the negotiations has been going on for over 20 years, but a widely-agreed pact has yet to be reached.

"The final climate goals remain in question as to whether to limit global temperatures below 2 C, above pre-industrial levels," Fabius said.

To get governments, non-government organizations and enterprises involved would boost efforts to reach the international agreement and realize its goal, Fabius added.

Fabius noted the US-China Joint Statement on climate change in November was a positive signal to the world, because the two biggest carbon-emitting countries have provided their proposed model.

China intends to reach a peak in carbon emissions by 2030 and also to increase the use of non-fossil fuels to around 20 percent, while the US is looking at reducing its emissions by 26-28 percent below its 2005 level in 2025.

He also said that the voluntary emission reduction proposals from China would be announced within a few weeks.

China's chief climate negotiator Su Wei also said at COP 20 in Lima last year that China has been preparing its INDC and plans to reveal it in the first half of 2015.

Considering the demand from the developing world for renewable energy technology, Fabius said as a host country of the climate conference, France has the responsibility to show what techniques each country has to offer, including garbage disposal systems and the use of electric vehicles.

The foreign minister said scientists and governments confirm that global warming has begun, thus businesses should also grasp the opportunity to apply environmentally-friendly strategies which lead to economic benefits.



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